Davis, Elmer

Davis, Elmer, 1890–1958, American newspaperman, radio commentator, and author, b. Aurora, Ind. Davis was a Rhodes scholar (1910–13) at Oxford. For 10 years (1914–24) he was on the staff of the New York Times. In 1939 he became radio news analyst for the Columbia Broadcasting System. He soon became noted for his incisiveness, objectivity, and dry humor. During World War II Davis was (1942–45) director of the Office of War Information. From 1945–53 he was radio news analyst with the American Broadcasting Company. His works include History of the New York Times (1921), several novels, short stories, and two volumes of essays—Show Window (1927) and Not to Mention the War (1940). His later writings include But We Were Born Free (1954) and Two Minutes till Midnight (1955).

Bibliography

See R. Burlingame, Don't Let Them Scare You (1961, repr. 1974).

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Davis, Elmer (Holmes) (1890–1956) journalist, broadcaster, author; born in Aurora, Ind. A prominent radio news commentator (1939–42, 1945–53), he was noted for his straightforward style and dry humor. He headed the War Information Office during World War II (1942–45); his books include Not to Mention the War (1945) and two short story collections.