William Harlan Hale (1910 – July 1974) was an American writer, journalist, and editor.

Life and career

Hale was born in New York City, the son of William Bayard and Olga Unger Hale. He attended

Riverdale Country School Riverdale Country School is a co-educational, independent, college-preparatory day school in New York City serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is located on two campuses covering more than in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, N ...

. Hale was considered "one of

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

's brightest of bright young men" in his youth, and co-founded the campus magazine '' Harkness Hoot''. In 1931, he married Jean Laughlin Barker of Santa Fe; they had two daughters and a son. In religion he was a lifelong

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

and in politics, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Hale was associate editor of '' Vanity Fair'' in 1932, a columnist for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' in 1933–34, and editorial associate at ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

'' from 1934 to 1936. His first book was ''Challenge to Defeat: Goethe's World and Spengler's Century'' (1932). In 1938, he published a novel, titled ''Hannibal Hooker''. He also wrote an adventure novel, ''A Yank in the RAF'' (1940). In an historical vein, Hale wrote a popular history of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, ''The March of Freedom'' (1946) and a biography of

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

, ''Horace Greeley, Voice of the People'' (1950; paperback reprint, 1961). 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hale served in Army intelligence (

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

, Psychological Warfare Branch of the

Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...

, writing memoranda on German public opinion), and worked again for military intelligence from 1948 to 1949. He visited

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

on April 12, 1945. William Harlan Hale

Hale worked as a journalist in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from 1950 to 1953. He was editor of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'' (1946–47), the ''Reporter'', and ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

'' (1958). He was the author of ''The Horizon Book of Ancient Greece'' (1965) and ''The Horizon Book of Eating and Drinking Through the Ages'' (1968). Articles for ''

American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...

'' formed the basis for his ''Innocence Abroad'' (1958). Hale's papers are in the

Yale University Library The Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Originating in 1701 with the gift of several dozen books to a new "Collegiate School," the library's collection now contains approximately 14.9 milli ...

References

Yale University Library biography

External links

* William Harlan Hale papers (MS 1140). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library

1910 births 1974 deaths American male journalists Yale University alumni Writers from New York (state) 20th-century American writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers Riverdale Country School alumni People of the United States Office of War Information 20th-century American Episcopalians {{US-journalist-1910s-stub