DONOVAN, Robert J(ohn) 1912-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born August 21, 1912, in Buffalo, NY; died of complications from a stroke August 8, 2003, in St. Petersburg, FL. Journalist and author. Donovan was a highly respected Washington, D.C. correspondent who also wrote several important presidential biographies. Originally aspiring to be a doctor, because he could not afford a medical tuition he took a job as a copy boy after high school, eventually getting himself hired as a reporter for the Buffalo Courier Express. He moved to the New York Herald Tribune in 1937, covering local government and the United Nations. With the onset of World War II, he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the 2nd Infantry and seeing action at the Battle of the Bulge. Donovan left the military as a sergeant, returning to the Herald and being assigned to Washington, D.C. Here, he gained the trust of President Truman and then President Eisenhower; gaining access to private information led to such books as Eisenhower: The Inside Story (1956). He would have similar success with President Kennedy, an association that would lead to his bestselling book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II (1961), which was also adapted as a film starring Cliff Robertson. Donovan was next hired by the Los Angeles Times in 1963, and many believe that his work there did much to make it a nationally respected newspaper. After becoming an associate editor there and working as such from 1970 to 1977, Donovan left the Los Angeles Times to become a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; he also taught journalism at Princeton for a year and was senior fellow at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Donovan continued to write books well into his eighties, as well as contributing to newspapers. A former president of the White House Correspondents Association, he was the author of many works, including two volumes on Truman—Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1945-1948 (1977) andTumultuous Years; The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1949-1953 (1982)—The Second Victory: The Marshall Plan and the Postwar Revival of Europe (1987), and Boxing the Kangaroo: A Reporter's Memoir (2000).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, August 9, 2003, section 1, p. 8.

Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2003, p. B21.

New York Times, August 10, 2003, p. A24.

Times (London, England), August 27, 2003.

Washington Post, August 9, 2003, p. B7.