By JENNIFER MOONSONG
Glasgow News 1
Glasgow native Arthur Krock is one of America’s most noted journalists, whose works encompassed and encapsulated the events of a generation.
Arthur Krock was a Glasgow-born man who went on to leave a legacy in political journalism as a New York Times writer and analyst.
National Historic Archive
Krock was born in November of 1886. He was a child of German-Jewish ancestry, born to Caroline and Morris Krock. He spent the first six years of his life in Glasgow, being raised by his grandparents, because his mother became temporarily blind. However when she regained her vision, he went to live with his parents in Chicago at the age of seven.
As a young man he attended Princeton, but financial woes led to him leaving the university and returning to Chicago where he again sought higher education. He graduated from the Lewis Institute in 1906, and returned to Kentucky to begin his career in journalism.
He first worked for the Louisville Herald. He then worked as a correspondent for the Louisville Times and the Louisville Courier-Journal, spending much of his time in Washington D.C.
In the early 1930s, Krock began making a name for himself as New York Times writer and analyst. He soon became the publication’s Washington corespondent and bureau chief. His famous column “In the Nation” garnered global recognition, and set the stage for U.S. and international politics.
Krock’s very popular column “In the Nation” became a collected works in a book that was described by the New York Times as “truly illuminating.”
He quickly became notable for the style in which he wrote and what was described as a calm analytical mannerism when it came to politics, foreign affairs and the economy. The era of his work at the New York Times from 1932 to 1966 was one of the most tumultuous and formative times in U.S. history and his work mirrored the times.
Krock won two Pulitzer Prizes — 1935 and 1938 — and a Pulitzer special citation in 1951. He also served on the Advisory Board for the Pulitzer Prizes. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970.
Those interested in reading Krock’s works can do so at the Mudd manuscript Library online, in the Krock Papers.
The Krock papers document his career and also include his correspondence, and documents of a biographical nature.
Krock also wrote books, including “The Consent of the Governed” and his memoirs.
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