Michael David Kilian (16 July 1939 – 26 October 2005) was a journalist and author. He was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

and raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Westchester, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. Kilian died on 26 October 2005 from illness and was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. In addition to being a long-time correspondent for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Kilian was an accomplished author of numerous books, including the Harrison Raines

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

mysteries. His father was instrumental in his education of the Civil War era and in visiting the many battlefield sites. His family includes early settlers of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and New York, and Union soldiers who died at Fredericksburg and fought at Gettysburg on Little Round Top. In 1993, Killian began writing the '' Dick Tracy'' comic strip with illustrator

Dick Locher Richard Earl Locher (June 4, 1929 – August 6, 2017) was an American syndicated cartoonist. Early life and career Locher was born in Dubuque, Iowa. After high school, he began studying art at the University of Iowa and the Chicago Academy of ...

. One of their storylines involved

Tess Trueheart ''Tess Trueheart'' is the love interest character in the American comic strip '' Dick Tracy'', which was created by Chester Gould in 1931. The character eventually became the wife of Dick Tracy in the original comic strip. In the 1934-1948 radi ...

serving Tracy with divorce papers.Arlington National Cemetery - Michael Kilian
/ref> Kilian was survived by his wife of 35 years and two sons. Kilian also served in the

Coast Guard Auxiliary The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGA, USCGAUX, CGAux, or USCG Aux) is the civilian uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard. Congress established the unit on 23 June 1939, as the United States Coast Guard Reserve ...

Novels

*''Harrison Raines series'' **''Murder at Manassas'' - 2000 **''A Killing at Ball's Bluff'' - 2001 **''The Ironclad Alibi'' - 2002 **''A Grave at Glorieta'' - 2003 **''The Shiloh Sisters'' - 2003 **''Antietam Assassins'' - 2005 *''Bedford Green series'' **''Weeping Woman'' - 2001 **''Uninvited Countess'' - 2002 **''Sinful Safari'' - 2003 *''Other fiction'' **''Valkyrie Project'' - 1981 **''Northern Exposure'' - 1983 **''Blood of the Czars'' - 1984 **''By order of the President'' - 1986 **''Dance on a Sinking Ship'' - 1988 **''Looker'' - 1991 **''Last Virginia gentleman'' - 1992 **''Big score'' - 1993 **''Major Washington'' - 1998 **''Deepkill'' - 2005

Non-Fiction

*''Who runs Chicago?'' - 1979 *''Who runs Washington?'' - 1982 *''Heavy losses: The dangerous decline of American defense'' (with James Coates) - 1985 *''Flying can be Fun'' - 1985 (Pbk)

References

* 1939 births 2005 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American mystery writers American comics writers Writers from Toledo, Ohio Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Chicago Tribune people American male novelists 20th-century American novelists Dick Tracy Deaths from hepatitis Novelists from Ohio 20th-century American male writers United States Coast Guard auxiliarists {{US-novelist-1930s-stub