John Bartlow Martin
John Bartlow Martin (August 4, 1915 – January 3, 1987) was an American diplomat, author of 15 books, ambassador, and speechwriter and confidant to many
Early life
Martin was born on August 4, 1915, in Hamilton, Ohio, to John, a carpenter and contractor, and Laura Bartlow Martin, and as a young child moved to Indianapolis. Martin grew up in an unhappy childhood, plagued by the death of his two brothers. He graduated from high school at age 16 and was expelled in his first year from DePauw University, but he later graduated there with a degree in journalism.
Journalism
With the impact of his dark childhood and onset of the Great Depression, Martin's early journalism career focused on deep concern for the underprivileged and forgotten, such as criminals, the impoverished, the working class, and the mentally ill. His work appeared in such publications as
Political career
Martin was hired in 1952 as a speechwriter by Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, and later worked on the Kennedy presidential campaign. Martin was sent by Kennedy on a fact-finding mission to the Dominican Republic after the assassination of the dictator
Death and legacy
He died on January 3, 1987, in Highland Park, Illinois, of throat cancer.
In 2008,
Selected bibliography
- Adlai Stevenson of Illinois (828 pages), Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY, 1976.
- Adlai Stevenson and the World (946 pages), Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY, 1977.
- Break Down the Walls (310 pages), Ballantine Books, New York, NY, 1954 ; an account of the 1952 riots in the State Prison of Southern Michigan at Jackson
References
- ^ Ray E. Boomhower, John Bartlow Martin: A Voice for the Underdog (Indiana University Press, 2015).
- ^ The Press: The Fact Finder, TIME, 12 May 1958
- ISBN 080784764X.
- ^ ISBN 080784764X.
- ^ Office of the Historian. "John Bartlow Martin (1915–1987)".
Further reading
- Boomhower, Ray E. John Bartlow Martin: A Voice for the Underdog (Indiana University Press, 2015) xviii, 386 pp.
- Boomhower, Ray E. "Fighting the Good Fight: John Bartlow Martin and Hubert Humphrey's 1968 Presidential Campaign." Indiana Magazine of History (2020) 116#1 pp 1–29.