Arthur Krock | |
|---|---|
 Krock in 1939 | |
| Born | (1886-11-16)November 16, 1886 Glasgow, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | April 12, 1974(1974-04-12) (aged 87) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Lewis Institute |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | "In the Nation" column (The New York Times) |
| Spouse(s) | Marguerite Pollys (first), Martha Granger Blair (second) |
| Children | 3 sons |
| Parent(s) | Joseph Krock, Caroline Morris |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom Pulitzer Prize (1935, 1938, 1951) |
Arthur Bernard Krock (November 16, 1886 – April 12, 1974) was aPulitzer Prize-winning Americanjournalist. He became known as the "Dean of Washington newsmen" in a career that spanned the tenure of 11 United States presidents.
Arthur Krock was born inGlasgow, Kentucky, in 1887.[1] He was the son of German-Jewish bookkeeper Joseph Krock and Caroline Morris, who was half-Jewish.[2] After his mother became blind, Krock was raised by his grandparents, Emmanuel and Henrietta Morris, until he was six years old. When his mother regained her sight, he joined his parents in Chicago, graduating from high school there in 1904.
Krock went on toPrinceton University but dropped out in his first year for lack of money. He returned home, and in 1906 graduated with an associate degree from theLewis Institute in Chicago.
Krock began his career injournalism with theLouisville Herald, then went to Washington as acorrespondent for theLouisville Times andLouisville Courier-Journal. In 1927, he joinedThe New York Times and soon became its Washington correspondent and bureau chief. His column, "In the Nation", was noted for its opinions on public policy.
For example, amid theHiss–Chambers andCoplon spy cases and the investigation ofDavid E. Lilienthal's management of theU.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Krock observed:
The persons whose names have entered the trials and investigations, fairly and unfairly, include none who was affiliated with the Republican party ... The ideal solution from the standpoint of these strategists [President Truman's] would be: (1) the acquittal of Hiss ... (2) a find by the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy that Lilienthal has been a good manager ... (3) repudiation by public opinion of the more sensational testimony before the thirdUn-American Committee; (4) at least one substantial trial victory for the Department of Justice. This is a large order. But the deep-thinking Democratic politicos think there is a good chance for it.[3]
In the mid-1930s, Krock became a friend and staunch advocate ofJoseph P. Kennedy and his ambitions. HistorianDavid Nasaw wrote that the journalist seemed to be all but in the pocket of the powerful millionaire (whose second son would become U.S. president while two others would contend for the office). In a 2012 biography of Joe Kennedy, Nasaw wrote that the Krock-Kennedy correspondence "reveals something quite disturbing, if not corrupt, about Krock's willingness to do Kennedy's bidding, to advise him or write a speech for him, then praise it in his column..."[2]
In October 1963, less than two months before the assassination of Joe Kennedy's son, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, Krock wrote a column headlined "The Intra-Administration War in Vietnam" in which he quoted a high-ranking government official:
The CIA's growth was 'likened to a malignancy' which the 'very high official was not even sure the White House could control ... any longer.' 'If the United States ever experiences [an attempted coup to overthrow the Government] it will come from the CIA and not the Pentagon. The agency 'represents a tremendous power and total unaccountability to anyone.'[4]
Over his 60-year career, Krock won threePulitzer Prizes:
The organization now explains the special Pulitzer thus: "The Advisory Board on the Pulitzer Prizes as a policy does not make any award to an individual member of the Board. In 1951, the Board decided that the outstanding instance of National Reporting done in 1950 was the exclusive interview with President Truman obtained by Arthur Krock ofThe New York Times, while Mr. Krock was a Board member. The Board therefore made no award in theNational Reporting category."[6]
He was awarded a French citation for his coverage of theVersailles Peace Conference.
On April 22, 1970, he was presented with thePresidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentRichard Nixon.[7]
He was married twice, first to Marguerite Polleys, daughter of a Minneapolis railroad official, from 1911 to her death following a long illness in 1938. They had one son, Thomas, who, during theSpanish Civil War, was one of a handful of Americans who fought in the war on the side ofFrancisco Franco.[8] In 1939, he wed Martha Granger Blair of Chicago, a divorcedsociety columnist for theWashington Times-Herald, who had two sons. He died on April 12, 1974.[1][9] He was buried inOak Hill Cemetery.[10]
