William Allen White | |
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Born | |
Died | January 29, 1944 | (aged 75)
Education | College of Emporia and University of Kansas |
Occupation(s) | Newspaper editor, author |
Spouse | Sallie Lindsay |
Children | William Lindsay White, Mary |
Parent(s) | Allen, Mary Ann |
William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for middle America.
White was born in Emporia, Kansas. White moved to El Dorado, Kansas with his parents, Allen and Mary Ann Hatten White. He spent most of his childhood in El Dorado. He loved animals, and he loved reading various books.[1][2]
White became a leader of the Progressive movement in Kansas. He created the Kansas Republican League in 1912. He did this to oppose railroads.[3] White helped Theodore Roosevelt form the Progressive (Bull-Moose) Party in 1912. He did this to oppose the conservatives helping Republican president William Howard Taft.[4]
White married Sallie Lindsay in 1893. They had two children, William Lindsay, born in 1900, and Mary Katherine, born in 1904. Mary died in a 1921 horse-riding accident. This led to her father to writing a famous eulogy, "Mary White," on August 17, 1921.[5][6]