Gardner Cowles Jr.
Gardner "Mike" Cowles Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Algona, Iowa, U.S. | January 31, 1903
Died | July 8, 1985 Southampton, New York, U.S. | (aged 82)
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Occupation | Publisher |
Known for | Cowles Media Company |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) |
Lois Thornburg
(m. 1933; div. 1946)Jan Hochstraser (also known as Jan Streate Cox)
(m. 1956) |
Children | Lois Cowles Harrison, Kate Nichols, Gardner ("Pat") Cowles III, Jane, Virginia Kurtis, stepson Charles[2] |
Parent(s) | Gardner Cowles Sr. and Florence Call |
Gardner "Mike" Cowles Jr. (1903–1985) was an American newspaper and magazine publisher. He was co-owner of the
Biography
Cowles was a descendant of Hannah Bushoup (c. 1613–1683) of Hartford, Connecticut, and John Cowles (1598–1675) of Gloucestershire, England. His father Gardner Cowles Sr. was a banker, publisher, and politician who purchased The Des Moines Register and the Des Moines Tribune.
Cowles Jr. was born in Algona, Iowa.[4] He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.[4]
He became co-owner with his brother John of the Cowles Media Company (established in 1935), and in 1937 became co-founder, co-publisher, and editor of Look magazine. He also served as executive editor of The Des Moines Register and The Des Moines Tribune.
In 1939, Mike and John, along with entrepreneur
In the
In 1942 Cowles had been appointed to wartime duty as assistant director of the
In the fall of 1942 Cowles and Barnes accompanied Willkie, who was serving as special representative of President Roosevelt, in his international tour (North Africa - Beirut - Jerusalem - Soviet Union - Siberia - China). They visited Stalin in Moscow on September 23, 1942[6] Returned to USA Cowles had 2-hours press conference in November 1942 and told how Stalin allegedly expressed anti-British sentiment.[7] Stalin denied the accusation.[8]
In his 1985 memoir Mike Looks Back Cowles claimed Willkie had asked him to cover for him during an assignation with Madame Chiang. The two had absented themselves from a banquet, Cowles said, leaving him to confront an angry generalissimo and three of his gun-wielding bodyguards—later inflated to 'sixty' in Washington gossip circles—who searched the guesthouse and found nothing.[9]
For a time, Cowles owned the infamous "
Cowles was a donor to the Gardner Cowles Foundation, an executive of the Farfield Foundation (supposedly a CIA front),[12] and sponsor of the journal History.
In the 1950s, Cowles was involved with the propaganda campaign
Personal life and death
Cowles was married to writer, editor, and artist Fleur Cowles from 1946 to 1955, ending in divorce.[4] His daughter Lois Cowles Harrison (1934–2013) was a civic leader, women's rights activist, and philanthropist. He was married to Jan Hochstraser (also known as Jan Streate Cox) from May 1956 until his death and had a daughter Virginia and stepson Charles, an art dealer.[14]
Cowles Jr. died at age 82 on July 8, 1985, from cardiac arrest in Southampton, New York.[4]
His memoirs were published in 1985.[15]
References
- ^ a b Associated Press. "Look Magazine Founder Gardner Cowles," Los Angeles Times (July 9, 1985).
- ^ a b c d Strentz, Herb."Gardner Cowles Jr. (Mike)", Cowles Family Publishing Legacy, Drake University, Cowles Library. Accessed January 15, 2018.
- ^ Domhoff, G. William. (1967). Who Rules America?. Prentice Hall, Inc. (Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 67-25926). pp. 67, 82.
- ^ a b c d "Gardner Cowles Jr. Is Dead at 82; Helped Build Publishing Empire", The New York Times (July 9, 1985).
- ^ "Victory: Official Weekly Bulletin of the Office of War Information". 1942.
- ^ United States Department of State / Foreign relations of the United States diplomatic papers, 1942. Europe, pp.640-641
- RGASPI. F.558. Op.11. D.385. L.120
- RGASPI. F.558. Op.11. D.385. L.122
- ^ Samuel Zipp, The Idealist: Wendell Willkie’s Wartime Quest to Build One World, Harvard University Press, 2020, page 197.
- OCLC 910726243.
- ^ "The Cardiff Giant". Farmer's Museum. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ Menand, Louis (October 17, 2005). "Unpopular Front: American art and the Cold War". The New Yorker.
- ISBN 1-56584-596-X, p. 137.
- ^ Cowles Family Publishing Legacy, Drake University, Cowles Library. Accessed Jan. 15, 2018
- ISBN 0961399708