Alden Whitman
Encyclopedia
Alden Whitman was an American
journalist. He worked at The New York Times where he pioneered writing personalized obituaries. He is also known for his testimony before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
. He was born in New Albany, Nova Scotia
and he died on a visit to Monte Carlo
, Monaco
.
from 1943-1951.
's testimony before the subcommittee in July 1955. Whitman staunchly refused to name other people as Communists and he was indicted in Dec. 1956 for contempt of Congress. Under tough questioning from subcommitte counsel J.G. Sourwine Whitman admitted his own involvement with the Communist Party from 1935-1948. He also told Sourwine he was a member of a cell with "perhaps a half-dozen members" at the New York Herald Tribune when he worked there.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist. He worked at The New York Times where he pioneered writing personalized obituaries. He is also known for his testimony before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
The Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951-77, more commonly known as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and sometimes the McCarran Committee, was authorized under S...
. He was born in New Albany, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and he died on a visit to Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
.
Work before the Times
Whitman worked as a copy editor at the New York Herald TribuneNew York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
from 1943-1951.
Work at the New York Times
Whitman was hired as a copy editor by the New York Times in 1951. Eventually he pioneered the personalized obituary and became known for his obituary writing.Whitman's Communist affiliations
Subpoenaed by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee during its investigation of Communists in the media in Nov. 1955, Whitman testified before the Senate in January 1956. Whitman was implicated in Winston BurdettWinston Burdett
Winston Burdett was an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for the CBS Radio Network during World War II and later for CBS television news. He was born in Buffalo, New York. From 1937-1942 he was involved with the Communist Party...
's testimony before the subcommittee in July 1955. Whitman staunchly refused to name other people as Communists and he was indicted in Dec. 1956 for contempt of Congress. Under tough questioning from subcommitte counsel J.G. Sourwine Whitman admitted his own involvement with the Communist Party from 1935-1948. He also told Sourwine he was a member of a cell with "perhaps a half-dozen members" at the New York Herald Tribune when he worked there.
External links
- Uphill All the Way by Alden Whitman, Winter 1978