Robert Sharon Allen (July 14, 1900 — February 23, 1981) was an American journalist, Washington bureau chief for ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', and military officer.

Background

Robert Sharon Allen was born on July 14, 1900, in

Latonia, Kentucky Latonia is a former city, now neighborhood of Covington in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. Latonia, not to be confused with the neighboring community of Latonia Lakes, is located in the southern part of the city of Covington. It includ ...

to Harry and Lizzie (Elizabeth) Greenberg. Robert's given name was Herman Greenberg. He changed his name and lied about his age in order to join the military on September 6, 1916. His father officially changed his name to match his son's in 1918, saying that there was a German "taint" to the last part of his name and he desired a real American name. After that time all the family except his brother Isador used the name. Allen married fellow journalist Ruth Finney in 1929, and they remained married until her death in 1979. He later married Adeline Sunday (1921–2017), his former secretary.

Career

Allen joined the army, lying about his age in order to do so, and served in the cavalry during the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

of 1916–17 and in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the war, he graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

and took up reporting. He joined the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

in order to write an exposé about them, and was studying in Munich at the time of Hitler's

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...

(1923). It was at this time he became a foreign correspondent for the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

''. In 1931, Allen was the Washington bureau chief for the ''Christian Science Monitor''. Because the magazine would not publish content critical of

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

, Allen and Drew Pearson anonymously co-wrote the book '' Washington Merry-Go-Round'', an exposé of the Hoover administration. After Hoover tracked down their identities, both authors were fired. In 1932 the two journalists published a sequel, ''More Merry-Go-Round'', and wrote a nationally syndicated column titled "Merry-Go-Round". In 1933, Allen worked as a Soviet agent (Sh/147) for $100 a month. According to John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev in their 2009 book ''Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America'', this was legal for Allen to do, being prior to the passage of the 1938

Foreign Agents Registration Act The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)2 U.S.C. § 611 ''et seq.'' is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests.

, and his motivation is unknown. In 1937, during the court-packing controversy, Allen and Pearson co-authored the book ''The Nine Old Men,'' about the U.S. Supreme Court. During the early forties he co-wrote the newspaper strip ''Hap Hopper'' with Drew Pearson. The strip was drawn by Jack Sparling. He served on

General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's staff in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, reaching the rank of colonel. During a reconnaissance mission, Allen lost his right arm in combat fire. His wartime diary would be published after his death. In 1947, he edited the book ''Our Fair City'', an exposé of corrupt conditions in American municipalities. He also wrote ''Lucky Forward: The History of Patton's Third Army.'' Papers concerning his military career reside in the George S. Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky. According to documents released by the CIA in 2007, Allen was the subject of a wiretap operation,

Project Mockingbird Project Mockingbird was a wiretapping operation initiated by United States President John F. Kennedy to identify the sources of government leaks by eavesdropping on the communications of journalists. History In October 2001, the Miller Center ...

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

reported:

"Under pressure from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy" in 1962, CIA director John McCone "agreed to tap the telephones of columnists Robert S. Allen and Paul Scott in an effort to identify their sources for classified information which was appearing in their columns," says a memo a decade later to the agency's director."

Death

Allen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Georgetown on February 23, 1981, at age 80. He also had cancer at the time of his death, and the effects of the disease had forced him to retire the year prior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Robert S. 1900 births 1981 deaths 1981 suicides 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers American columnists American spies for the Soviet Union Burials at Arlington National Cemetery The Christian Science Monitor people Journalists from Kentucky Journalists from Washington, D.C. Military personnel from Kentucky People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) People from Kenton County, Kentucky Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Suicides by firearm in Washington, D.C. United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army reservists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 20th-century American male writers