Davis, Elmer Holmes

1890 - Born in Aurora, Indiana, on the 13th of January the son of a cashier for the First National Bank of Aurora.

His first professional writing jobs were with the Indianapolis Star.

1910 - Davis received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford.

Became an editor for Adventure magazine but left a year later.

He was a reporter and editorial writer for the New York Times.

He left the Times and became a freelance writer.

1928 - Davis published his novel Giant Killer, a retelling of the story of David.

1939 - Paul White, the news chief at CBS, asked Davis to fill in as a news analyst for H. V. Kaltenborn.

1942-1945 - President Roosevelt appointed him as Director of the newly created United States Office of War Information.

After World War II, Davis continued his career in radio, using the platform to criticize Senator Joseph McCarthy for his anti-communist investigations.

He was inducted into the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau and the Czechoslovak Order of the White Lion.

1958 - Elmer Davis died on 18th of May.

• "This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."
• "One of the things that is wrong with America is that everybody who has done anything at all in his own field is expected to be an authority on every subject under the sun."
• "The first and great commandment is: Don't let them scare you."