Alan Barth

Alan Barth

Alan Barth (Oct. 21, 1906–Nov. 20, 1979) was an American journalist specializing in civil liberties, best known for his 30 year stint as an editorial writer at The Washington Post, from which he retired in 1972, and his books on historical and contemporaneous politics.

He was born Alan Barth Lachheimer to Jacob and Flora (Barth) Lauchheimer. He received his Ph.B. from Yale University in 1929 and was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University 1948-49. He married Adrienne Mayer on July 1, 1939.

His best-known book is probably the posthumously published The Rights of Free Men: An Essential Guide to Civil Liberties, a collection of his articles, editorials, speeches, and other material. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1952.[1]

He is the earliest know source of the phrase "News is only the first rough draft of history," writing it in 1943 – see Wikiquote article for details.[2][3]

Bibliography

References

  1. "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  2. Alan Barth, review of The Autobiography of a Curmudgeon by Harold L. Ickes in The New Republic, 1943, collected in The New Republic, Volume 108, p. 677
  3. "Who Said It First? Journalism is the 'first rough draft of history.'" by Jack Shafer, Slate (30 August 2010)