Biography
Elmer Davis, an American writer, commentator, and journalist, was born in Aurora, Indiana, in 1890. He earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Queen's College at Oxford University, England, graduating with an M.A. in 1911. He spent a year teaching high school in Franklin, Indiana, before joining the staff of Adventure magazine in 1913. Later, he secured a position with The New York Times, leaving in 1924 to pursue freelance writing. In 1939, CBS Radio officials invited him to temporarily replace radio commentator H.V. Kaltenborn on a program analyzing the war in Europe. Davis's calm demeanor, steady delivery, subject expertise, and witty, concise commentary offered a welcome contrast to the bombastic, excitable, and often pompous style of many contemporary radio commentators. His approach quickly attracted millions of listeners, establishing him as one of the most popular radio broadcasters.
On June 13, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Davis to lead the newly established Office of War Information (OWI), which served as the government's central agency for all information, official statements, and propaganda related to the war.
