Murrow, Edward R., 1908-1965

Edward R. Murrow was born as Egbert Roscoe Murrow on April 25, 1908 near Greensboro, North Carolina. He graduated from Washington State College in 1930 and then served a two-year term as president of the National Student Federation of America. He joined the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars in 1933 and did occasional radio talks. Based on these broadcasts he was hired as director of talks and education for CBS in 1935. In 1934 he married Janet Brewster, a 1933 Mount Holyoke College graduate, who served on the board of trustees for three terms. In 1937 they went to London while Edward was head of the CBS European Bureau. He stayed in Europe throughout the war, covering the Battle of Britain and the Munich Conference, among other events. When he returned to the United States he became vice president of the news at CBS. In 1951 he moved from radio to television, with a documentary called "See it now." In 1953, in the height of McCarthyism, Murrow aired a program which forced the secretary of the Air Force to review its policies. Additional programs brought similar results. In 1961 Murrow left CBS to become director of the U.S. Information Agency under President Kennedy. He retired in 1964, and died the following year.

From the guide to the Murrow papers MS 0576., [ca. 1860-ongoing], (Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections)

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