Roscoe Drummond

Roscoe Drummond
Born James Roscoe Drummond
13 January 1902
Theresa, New York
Died 30 September 1983 (aged 81)
Princeton, New Jersey
Education B.S., Journalism, 1924
Syracuse University
Occupation Political journalist
Spouse(s) Charlotte Bruner (1926–1977)
Carol Cramer
Children Geoffrey Drummond

James Roscoe Drummond (January 13, 1902 – September 30, 1983) was an American political journalist, editor and syndicated Washington columnist. He is known for his long association with The Christian Science Monitor and his syndicated column, "State of the Nation", which he wrote for more than 50 years. Drummond covered nine Presidents during his career, and was also director of information for the Marshall Plan and a founding member of Freedom House.

Life and career

Roscoe Drummond was born January 13, 1902, in Theresa, New York, to John Henry and Georgia Estella (Peppers) Drummond. In 1924, on the day he received his degree in journalism from Syracuse University, he joined the staff of The Christian Science Monitor.[1] He worked as a reporter, assistant city editor, assistant to executive editor and chief editorial writer between the years 1924 and 1930. He was European editorial manager (1930–33); general news editor and member of editorial board (1933–34); and executive editor (1934–40). In 1940 he was named chief of the bureau in Washington, D.C., a position he held until 1953. From 1953 to 1955 he was chief of the Washington bureau of the New York Herald Tribune.[2]

Drummond took a leave to serve as European director of information for the Marshall Plan (1949–1951) with the Economic Cooperation Administration in Paris.[1] A founding member of Freedom House in 1941,[3] he was a member of the board of trustees (1962–67) and served as its vice-chair.[1]

Drummond is best known for a political column he wrote for more than 50 years, called "State of the Nation". Syndicated by the Los Angeles Times, the column was carried by 150 newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, and reflected Drummond's Republican point of view.[2] He began writing the column in 1951, succeeding Joseph C. Harsch;[4] he stopped writing the column in 1981 after he was injured in an automobile accident.[2]

He was co-author (with Gaston Coblentz) of Duel at the Brink (1960), a book about Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Drummond was writing his memoirs and a mystery novel at the time of his death at the New Jersey nursing home where he had lived since his car accident in 1981.[1]

Drummond died of a heart ailment September 30, 1983.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Roscoe Drummond, 81, is Dead; Political Columnist for 50 Years". Gaiter, Dorothy J., The New York Times, October 1, 1983. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 (James) Roscoe Drummond. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, November 5, 2003. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  3. ↑ "George Field Collection of Freedom House Files 1933-1990". Princeton University Library. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  4. ↑ Lawrence N. Strout (1999). Covering McCarthyism: How the Christian Science Monitor Handled Joseph R. McCarthy, 1950-1954. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 43. ISBN 0313310912.

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