Thomas O’Conor Sloane III (November 20, 1912 – March 13, 2003) was an American editor, professor, etymologist and career military officer.

Author collaborations at Doubleday and Devin-Adair

Sloane, a senior editor at

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

collaborated with such distinguished talents as

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the ...

and his son,

Philippe Cousteau Philippe Pierre Cousteau (30 December 1940 – 28 June 1979) was a French diver, sailor, pilot, photographer, author, director and cinematographer specializing in environmental issues, with a background in oceanography. He was the second son of ...

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

, Hugo and

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

winner

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

Marcel Marceau Marcel Marceau (; born Marcel Mangel; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French mime artist and actor most famous for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", performing professionally worldwide ...

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (; March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine ''Art et Décoration'' in 1911 were the first modern ...

Leon Uris Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books, including '' Exodus'' (published in 1958) and ''Trinity'' (published in 1976). Uris was a co-founder of the Write ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winner

Bruce Catton Charles Bruce Catton (October 9, 1899 – August 28, 1978) was an American historian and journalist, known best for his books concerning the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular history, featuring in ...

, General Matthew Bunker Ridgway,

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

winner

Allan W. Eckert Allan Wesley Eckert (January 30, 1931 – July 7, 2011) was an American novelist and playwright who specialized in historical novels for adults and children, and was also a naturalist. His novel ''Incident at Hawk's Hill'' (1971) was initially m ...

, Austin Clarke,

Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957), commonly known as Lord Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consist ...

(Lord Dunsany), Owen Lee, JK Stanford, Joseph T. Durkin, Charles C. Tansill,

Selden Rodman Cary Selden Rodman (February 19, 1909 – November 2, 2002) was a prolific American writer of poetry, plays and prose, political commentary, art criticism, Latin American and Caribbean history, biography and travel writing—publishing a book al ...

Elizabeth Bentley Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American NKVD spymaster, who was recruited from within the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union as the primary handler of multiple highly placed moles ...

, George Teeple Eggleston, John M. Oesterreicher, Peter Kavanagh, Oppi Untracht, Philippe Diole,

Jack Ganzhorn Jack Ganzhorn (1881–1956) was a silent film actor and script writer of the 1920s and 1930s – primarily in silent film Westerns, Hawk of the Hills (1927 serial) and Fightin' Odds. Family John W. "Jack" Ganzhorn was born on March 21, 1881, in ...

, Leonard Wickenden,

Mario Pei Mario Andrew Pei (February 16, 1901March 2, 1978) was an Italian-born American linguist and polyglot who wrote a number of popular books known for their accessibility to readers without a professional background in linguistics. His book ''The Sto ...

, Seon Manley,

Anne Fremantle Anne Fremantle (born Anne Marie Huth Jackson; 1909–2002) was an English-American journalist, translator, poet, novelist and biographer.

A partial list of editorial works at Doubleday

Authors and titles

Steichen Sloane was the editor of ''A Life in Photography'' (Doubleday, 1963) by Edward Steichen. Detailed correspondence between Steichen and Sloane chronicling the production of the book is located in the Edward Steichen Archive (Series VI. Post-MoMA Exhibitions, Publications, and Anniversaries; Subseries VI.A. ''A Life in Photography;'' VI.A.2 "Correspondence with Doubleday etc." and the Grace M. Mayer Papers (Series III.E) of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

(MoMA) in New York City. Asimov Sloane initiated and was the editor of ''Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology'' (Doubleday, 1964) by Isaac Asimov. Asimov, in his second and third volumes of autobiography, ''In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978'' (Avon Books & Doubleday, 1980) and ''I. Asimov: A Memoir'' (Doubleday, 1994), as well as in his ''Opus'' titles, describes the details of Sloane's idea for the book, the decision to put Asimov's name in the title and their excitement at the book's success. Interestingly, Asimov's first published work of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

had been accepted by ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

,'' the magazine that Sloane's grandfather, Dr. T. O'Conor Sloane had once been the editor of. Sloane and Asimov had a productive working relationship that spanned a decade, as detailed in ''In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978'' (Avon Books & Doubleday, 1980), although Sloane did ultimately decline to be the editor of ''Asimov's Guide to the Bible'' (Doubleday, 1968). Dalí Sloane was the editor of Salvador Dalí's autobiographical ''Diary of a Genius'' (Doubleday, 1965), which stands as one of the seminal texts of

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, by the best-known artist of what is widely considered to be the 20th century's most influential art movement. As evidenced in part by
letter from Dalí to Sloane, dated July 22, 1965
regarding the promotional efforts by Doubleday for ''Diary of a Genius'', Dalí was not happy and in a subsequent luncheon with Sloane, Dalí threw potato chips in his face. Manley Sloane was the editor of ''Long Island Discovery: An Adventure Into the History, Manners, and Mores of America's Front Porch'' (Doubleday, 1966) by Seon Manley. Untracht Sloane edited books on metal craft and jewelry with Finnish artist, Oppi Untracht, and his wife, Saara, such as ''Metal Techniques for Craftsmen : A Basic Manual for Craftsmen on the Methods of Forming and Decorating Metals'' (Doubleday, 1968) and initiated ''Jewelry Concepts and Technology'' (Doubleday, 1982). Cousteau Sloane was the editor of Jacques Cousteau's first two books with Doubleday: ''The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea (The Undersea Discoveries of Jacques-Yves Cousteau)'' (Doubleday, 1970) by Jacques and Philippe Cousteau and ''Life and Death in a Coral Sea'' (Doubleday, 1971) by Jacques Cousteau and Philippe Diole. Heyerdahl Sloane was the editor of ''The Art Of Easter Island'' (Doubleday, 1975) by Thor Heyerdahl. Sloane's editorial work ranged widely, titles included ''Designs for Craftsmen: textiles, graphics, ceramics, wood, glass, metal, leather, and many other crafts'' (Doubleday, 1962) by Walter Miles;'' Georgetown University: First in the Nation's Capital'' (Doubleday, 1964) by Joseph T. Durkin; ''Michigan'' (Doubleday, 1967) by John Calkins; ''The Skin Diver's Bible'' (Doubleday, 1968) by Owen Lee; ''The Boatbuilders of Bristol '' (Doubleday, 1970) by Samuel Carter III; ''The Owls of North America'' (Doubleday, 1974) by Allan W. Eckert; ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Crafts and How to Master Them'' (Doubleday, 1978) by Grace Berne Rose with drawings by Marta Cone and a popular series of travel-inspired books of photography by Hans W. Hannau, titles included ''California'' (Doubleday, 1964), ''Yosemite'' (Doubleday, 1967), ''Martinique'' (Doubleday, 1967), ''California in Color'' (Doubleday, 1969), ''Bermuda in full color'' (Doubleday, 1970), ''The Bahama Islands in full color'' (Doubleday, 1974); and many more titles by various authors. Additionally, Sloane facilitated the publication of the book ''Fabrics for Interiors: A Guide for Architects, Designers, and Consumers'' (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1975) by Jack Lenor Larsen and Jeanne Weeks, by authorizing the release of drawings from ''Elements of Weaving'' (Doubleday, 1967) by Azalea Stuart Thorpe and Jack Larsen to the authors and their publishing house.

Doubleday Dictionary

Sloane was involved in the development and publication of the first Doubleday dictionary.

Before Doubleday

Sloane entered the publishing world in 1938, serving as an associate editor, then editor, with

Liveright Publishing Boni & Liveright (pronounced "BONE-eye" and "LIV-right") is an American Publishing#Book publishing, trade book publisher established in 1917 in New York City by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. Over the next sixteen years the firm, which chang ...

from 1938 to 1940, as associate editor at

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

from 1940 to 1942 and again in 1946, Declan X. McMullen Co., from 1947 to 1948 and then as director and editor at the

Devin-Adair Publishing Company The Devin-Adair Publishing Company (1911–1981) was an American conservative publishing house. History Henry Garrity created the publishing house in 1911 in New York City. His son Devin Garrity inherited it in 1939. It moved from New York C ...

from 1949 to 1960, when he joined Doubleday as a senior editor. Doubleday had become the largest publishing house in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by 1947. Sloane freelanced ''Desert Calling: The Story of Charles de Foucauld'' (Henry Holt, 1949) by Anne Fremantle.

The Devin-Adair Publishing Company

Sloane served as director and editor at the Devin-Adair Publishing Company from 1949 to 1960, a conservative publishing house located in NYC and later,

Old Greenwich Old Greenwich is a coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct sections or neig ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

A partial list of editorial works at Devin-Adair

Authors and titles

Kavanagh Sloane was the editor of ''The Story of the Abbey Theatre: From Its Origins in 1899 to the Present'' (Devin-Adair, 1950) by Peter Kavanagh, which

Sean O’Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

, reviewing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,'' stated was "the best book written on the subject." Hughes Sloane was the editor of ''Prejudice and the Press'' (Devin-Adair, 1950) by Frank Hughes. Oesterreicher Sloane was the editor of ''Walls Are Crumbling: Seven Jewish Philosophers Discover Christ'' (Devin-Adair, 1952) by John M. Oesterreicher. Eggleston Sloane was the editor of ''Tahiti, Voyage Through Paradise: The Story of a Small Boat Passage Through the Society Islands'' (Devin-Adair, 1953) by George Teeple Eggleston. Stanford Sloane was the editor of ''Last Chukker'' (Devin-Adair, 1954) by JK Stanford. Plunkett Sloane was the editor of ''The Sword of Welleran, and Other Tales of Enchantment'' (Devin-Adair, 1954) by Edward Plunkett, with line drawings by Robert Barrell. Rodman Sloane was the editor of two books by Selden Rodman, ''The Eye of Man: Form and Content in Western Painting'' (Devin-Adair, 1955) and ''Mexican Journal: The Conquerors Conquered'' (Devin-Adair, 1958). Wickenden Sloane was the editor of ''Our Daily Poison'' (Devin-Adair, 1955) by chemist and organic farmer Leonard Wickenden. The book — published seven years before

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservation movement, conservationist whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) are credited with advancing mari ...

's ''Silent Spring'', which launched the modern environmental movement — proclaimed the dangers of the use of insecticides and other chemicals on human health and the environment. Tansill Sloane was the editor of ''America and the Fight for Irish Freedom: 1866-1922'' (Devin-Adair, 1957) by Charles C. Tansill. Pei Devin-Adair published several of Italian-born American linguist Mario Pei's many books, with Sloane as the editor; including: ''One Language for the World and How To Achieve It'' (Devin-Adair, 1958), a copy of which was given to the leader of every nation in the world. Ganzhorn Sloane was the editor of ''I've Killed Men: An Epic of Early Arizona'' (Devin-Adair, 1959) by John W. "Jack" Ganzhorn. Clarke Sloane was the editor of work by Irish poet Austin Clarke, regarded as one of the leading poets in the generation after

Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

Elizabeth Bentley, Devin-Adair and the FBI

While at Devin-Adair, Sloane was the editor of ''Out of Bondage: The Story of Elizabeth Bentley'' (Devin-Adair, 1951) by Elizabeth Bentley, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

turned American spy and

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

informant. Sloane and Devin Garrity, the president of Devin-Adair, became embroiled in an FBI investigation involving possible contact at the Devin-Adair offices between Elizabeth Bentley, who visited the offices frequently and American Communist turned FBI informant

Harvey Matusow Harvey Job Matusow (October 3, 1926 – January 17, 2002) was an American communist who became an informer for the FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation and subsequently a paid witness for a variety of anti-subversion bodies, including the House U ...

who had visited the offices several times, meeting with Sloane in an attempt to interest Devin-Adair in publishing a book. Additionally, Kathryn S. Olmsted uses ''Civil Intelligence Report: T. O'Conor Sloane, III, January 22, 1951, Rauh Papers'' contained in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as a resource for her book ''Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley'' (University of North Carolina Press, 2002).

Catholic Poetry Society of America and other literary endeavors

From 1947 to 1952, Sloane was a director of the Catholic Poetry Society of America, which was headquartered in New York City with chapters in many major cities across the United States and published '' Spirit'', a magazine of poetry, as well as books of selected poetry from the magazine, such as ''From the Four Winds: Selected Poems from "Spirit"'' (Idlewild Press, 1939). During this time, a fellow director was Joseph Tusiani who would eventually become the New York State Poet Laureate Emeritus. A well-known president of the organization was A. M. Sullivan. Sloane and Sullivan were also both members of The Craftsman Group for Poetry, a New York City poetry society. Correspondence between Sloane and Sullivan is archived in the ''A. M. Sullivan Papers'' at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Book reviews, poetry reviews and literary criticism

Sloane wrote many book reviews for ''Commonweal'', these included ''For All Mankind'' by

Leon Blum Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

, ''Wide Margins'' by

George Palmer Putnam George Palmer Putnam (February 7, 1814 – December 20, 1872) was an American publisher and author. He founded the firm G. P. Putnam's Sons and ''Putnam's Magazine''. He was an advocate of international copyright reform, secretary for many year ...

, ''Grey Eminence'' by

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

and ''Return to the Future'' by

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset (; 20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Danish people, Danish-born Norwegian people, Norwegian novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1928. Born in Den ...

; poetry reviews for the Catholic Poetry Society of America's ''SPIRIT'' magazine; and provided literary criticism for ''America: A Catholic Review of the Week.''

After retirement

In retirement, Sloane continued to read the occasional manuscript in preparation for publication, such as ''The Final Fortress: The Campaign for Vicksburg 1862-1863'' (St. Martin's Press, 1980) by Samuel Carter III and ''An American Experience of God: The Spirituality of Isaac Hecker'' (Paulist Press, 1981) by John Farina. He was also known to be a ready source of entertaining anecdotes about the life of an editor, such as the story about his friend

Robert Giroux Robert Giroux (April 8, 1914 – September 5, 2008) was an American book editor and publisher. Starting his editing career with Harcourt, Brace & Co., he was hired away to work for Roger W. Straus, Jr. at Farrar & Straus in 1955, where he becam ...

that appeared in ''The Literary Life and Other Curiosities'' (Viking Press, 1981) by Robert Hendrickson.

Etymological work

Sloane was the etymologist for the ''International Dictionary of Medicine and Biology'' (Wiley, 1986) which he worked on for approximately three years during the late 1970s to early 1980s after his retirement from Doubleday. The dictionary was a major project, one which the journal ''Annals of Internal Medicine'' referred to as being "a new medical dictionary on a scale and scope never seen before in English...." Sloane provided the etymologies for ''Churchill's Illustrated Medical Dictionary'' (Churchill Livingstone, 1989).

Teaching

Hunter College

Sloane joined the faculty of

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

in New York City in 1956 and taught book editing and publishing, copy editing and creative writing until his retirement in late 1977.

Fairfield University

He also taught at

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

in Fairfield, Connecticut and was a member of the graduate advisory board of the Center for the Advancement of Human Communication, serving on the graduate advisory committee of the Graduate School of Corporate and Political Communication at Fairfield University well into his retirement years.

Life

Sloane was born in

South Orange South Orange is a historic suburban village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, the village populatio ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, son of the photographer T. O'Conor Sloane, Jr. and Gertrude Larned Sloane, author of ''Fun with Folk Tales: Six Plays in Verse with Music and Songs'' (E.P. Dutton, 1942). His grandfather was Dr. T. O'Conor Sloane, a scientist, author, professor, inventor and the editor of ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'' and ''Amazing Stories''. Sloane was a 1931 graduate of Regis High School on Manhattan's

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

and attended

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, from 1932 to 1937. Sloane retired from Doubleday in November 1977 at 65 years of age. He was a resident of Westport, Connecticut for 72 years.

Engagement to the future 5th Marquise de la Gratitud: The Giroux Imbroglio

Shortly before the entrance of the

into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sloane was engaged to be married in June 1941 to Doña Carmen de Arango of New York and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, daughter of the Marques and Marquesa de la Gratitud, who became the 5th Marquise de la Gratitud (see also, Spanish nobility in Cuba). Doña de Arango left Sloane for Robert Giroux, of

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

, his friend since Regis High School; before Sloane, Doña de Arango had been engaged to Don Julio Lafitte, Count de Lugar Nuevo.

Marriage during WWII

Sloane met and married his future wife of 59 years, Ella Margaret Sloane, née Lunder of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

while stationed in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during World War II, she as a nurse with the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

and he, as an intelligence officer, a Captain in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

; they had three children, Thomas Lunder, Catherine Maria and Juliana Margaret. Mrs. Sloane had graduated in the top of her class from

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

, in Northfield,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where she sang in the St. Olaf Choir. She stood nearly as tall as her 6' husband, sang opera semi-professionally and hailed from a pioneer

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans () are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

farming family involved in South Dakota politics; her brother, Lafe A. Lunder, was a four-term Republican

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

representing the 6th District in the 30th through 33rd sessions of the state Senate. Mrs. Sloane had taught high school English for several years before joining the Red Cross to assist in the war effort. In the late 1950s, she became director of the New Canaan Cooperative Nursery School and remained in that position for 20 years until her retirement.

Military service after WWII

After the war, Sloane continued military service as a reservist, achieving the rank of Lt. Colonel by the late 1950s and eventually retiring from the

U.S. Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

, he was buried with full military honors.

Of interest

Historical

Sloane, a direct descendant of the

O'Conor The O'Conor dynasty (Middle Irish: ''Ó Conchobhair''; Modern ) are an Irish noble dynasty and formerly one of the most influential and distinguished royal dynasties in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Connacht up ...

s of

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, held a lifelong interest in both Irish and American history, politics and literature; his editorial work at Devin-Adair in particular, reflected this. He believed that to be erudite in one's family history and heritage informed professional endeavors and contributions to society, cultural sensibilities, military service and civic responsibilities, political views, and religious faith. His grandmother, Isabel Mitchel Sloane, was the daughter of

Jane Mitchel Jane "Jenny" Mitchel ( – 31 December 1899) was an Irish nationalist who joined her husband, John Mitchel, in exile in the United States where, with their sons, they sided on a pro-slavery platform with the secessionist South in the Civil Wa ...

, née Verner and

John Mitchel John Mitchel (; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist writer and journalist chiefly renowned for his indictment of British policy in Ireland during the years of the Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famin ...

, the Irish patriot, political writer, newspaper editor and publisher, and the author of several books, including the ''Jail Journal'' (Cameron, Ferguson & Company, 1880); as well, she was the aunt of

John Purroy Mitchel John Purroy Mitchel (July 19, 1879 – July 6, 1918) was the 95th mayor of New York, in office from 1914 to 1917. At 34, he was the second-youngest mayor of the city, and was sometimes referred to as the "Boy Mayor of New York". Mitchel won t ...

, the 95th mayor of New York City from 1914 to 1917. Sloane's uncle,

John Eyre Sloane John Eyre Sloane (September 16, 1886 – July 17, 1970) was an American industrialist. He was born in South Orange, New Jersey, to well-known scientist, inventor and author, Dr. T. O'Conor Sloane. He established one of the country's first air ...

, married Thomas Edison's daughter Madeleine. He was also a descendant of

Auguste Chouteau René-Auguste Chouteau Jr. (; September 7, 1749, or September 26, 1750 – February 24, 1829Beckwith, 8.), also known as Auguste Chouteau, was one of the founders of St. Louis, Missouri, a successful fur trader and a politician. He and his partne ...

, the founder of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and his great-great uncle was Charles O'Conor of New York City, a lawyer who battled

"Boss" Tweed William Magear "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th ...

and

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

and was the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

presidential nominee, a

Bourbon Democrat Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century and early 20th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with fiscal conservatism or classical liberalism, es ...

, on the

Straight-Out Democratic Party "Straight-Out Democratic Party" (or "Straightout Democratic Party") is the name used by three minor American political parties between 1872 and 1890. The first Straight-Out Democratic Party played a minor role in the U.S. presidential election of ...

ticket with

John Quincy Adams II John Quincy Adams II (September 22, 1833 – August 14, 1894) was an American politician who represented Quincy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867, 1868 to 1869, 1871 to 1872, and from 1874 to 1875. Adams served as ...

in the

1872 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1872. Incumbent President of the United States, President Ulysses S. Grant, the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee, easil ...

. Sloane's grandson is Justin T. O'Conor Sloane, an author, publisher and the editor of ''Worlds of IF'' magazine and ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...

'' magazine.

Literary Correspondence

Sloane corresponded with many notable figures during his editorial tenure at Doubleday and Devin-Adair, some of which is preserved in the archival collections of

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...

, A. M. Sullivan, James Rorty, Selden Rodman, Edward Steichen, Robert Payne,

Max Eastman Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy, and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radica ...

, Parker Tyler, Leah Brenner,

Harry Sylvester Harry Ambrose Sylvester (January 19, 1908 – September 26, 1993) was an American short-story writer and novelist in the first half of the 20th century. His stories were published in Magazine, popular magazines such as ''Collier's Weekly, C ...

, Austin Clarke, Otto Grossman, Frank Hughes, Mary Kennedy, Edward C. McAleer, and others. One of Sloane's editorial projects at Doubleday involved a request to the international law firm of

Sullivan and Cromwell Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1879 by Algernon Sydney Sullivan and William Nelson Cromwell, the firm advised on the creation of Edison General Electric and the formation o ...

to examine the papers of former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

director

Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...

concerning the

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...

, hi
letter
caught the attention of the CIA and is archived in the

National Archives Building The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the headquarters of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Penn ...

, in College Park,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloane, T. OConor III 1912 births 2003 deaths United States Army Air Forces officers American editors United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II