Carr Van Anda
Encyclopedia
Carr Vattel Van Anda was the managing editor
of The New York Times
under Adolph Ochs, from 1904 to 1932.
Van Anda was born in Georgetown
, Ohio and moved to New York in order to become a journalist
and editor. Beginning at the New York Sun
he moved to the New York Times in 1904. Van Anda was an academic, studying astronomy
and physics
at Ohio University
, and started in journalism
at The Cleveland Herald and Gazette and later The Baltimore Sun
before being picked up by Adolph Simon Ochs, who valued intelligent and accurate news reporting.
Van Anda gave to political and scientific news coverage the same zeal normally reserved for sports and celebrity. Fluent in hieroglyphics, he secured near-exclusive coverage of the opening of Tutankhamun
's tomb by Howard Carter
in 1923. He famously corrected a mathematical error in a speech given by Albert Einstein
that was to be printed in the Times.
He was instrumental in getting a scoop for The Times on the story of the Titanics sinking in 1912. His most notable stories include the State Capitol fire in Albany, New York
which he covered with a phone call and some journalistic invention and the sinking of the RMS Titanic. While other newspapers were printing the White Star Line's ambiguous story about the Titanic having trouble after hitting an iceberg
, Van Anda figured that a lack of communication from the ship meant that the worst had happened and printed a headline stating that the Titanic had sunk. As his career progressed, it was said of him that "he is the most illustrious unknown man in America." According to a New Yorker
profile piece, V.A. (as he was called) practiced "a fierce anonymity while bestowing fleeting fame on some and withholding it from others."
Van Anda died of a heart attack upon learning of his daughter's death.
The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University
gave the "Carr Van Anda Award" to recognize outstanding work by journalists during their careers.
Managing editor
A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
under Adolph Ochs, from 1904 to 1932.
Van Anda was born in Georgetown
Georgetown, Ohio
Georgetown is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,691 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. Georgetown was the childhood home of Ulysses S...
, Ohio and moved to New York in order to become a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and editor. Beginning at the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
he moved to the New York Times in 1904. Van Anda was an academic, studying astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
, and started in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
at The Cleveland Herald and Gazette and later The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
before being picked up by Adolph Simon Ochs, who valued intelligent and accurate news reporting.
Van Anda gave to political and scientific news coverage the same zeal normally reserved for sports and celebrity. Fluent in hieroglyphics, he secured near-exclusive coverage of the opening of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
's tomb by Howard Carter
Howard Carter (archaeologist)
Howard Carter was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist, noted as a primary discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun.-Beginning of career:...
in 1923. He famously corrected a mathematical error in a speech given by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
that was to be printed in the Times.
He was instrumental in getting a scoop for The Times on the story of the Titanics sinking in 1912. His most notable stories include the State Capitol fire in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
which he covered with a phone call and some journalistic invention and the sinking of the RMS Titanic. While other newspapers were printing the White Star Line's ambiguous story about the Titanic having trouble after hitting an iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
, Van Anda figured that a lack of communication from the ship meant that the worst had happened and printed a headline stating that the Titanic had sunk. As his career progressed, it was said of him that "he is the most illustrious unknown man in America." According to a New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
profile piece, V.A. (as he was called) practiced "a fierce anonymity while bestowing fleeting fame on some and withholding it from others."
Van Anda died of a heart attack upon learning of his daughter's death.
The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
gave the "Carr Van Anda Award" to recognize outstanding work by journalists during their careers.