Sifton, Paul Field, 1897-1972

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1897
Death 1972

Biographical notes:

Playwright, government official, and lobbyist, whose wife, Claire G. Sifton, was an editor and author.

From the description of Paul F. Sifton and Claire G. Sifton papers, 1912-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71070273

Biographical Note

Paul Field Sifton

1897, Oct. 17 Born, Rockford, Ill. 1915 Graduate, Benton Harbor, Mich., high school 1917 1919 Private, first class, Headquarters Company, 6th Field Artillery, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, invalided out with diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis 1919 1920 Attended University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., on federal program for disabled veterans 1921 Attended London School of Economics, London, England 1922 Married Claire E. Ginsburg 1922 1923 Reporter, Des Moines Register, Staten Island Advance, United Press syndicate, Chicago Journal, and the New Leader 1923 1931 Assistant Sunday editor, feature writer, and reporter, New York World 1927 Play, The Belt, produced by the New Playwrights' Theatre, published by Macaulay, New York 1929 Veterans Administration ruled tuberculosis that his was arrested; awarded reduced disability pension 1930 Play written with Claire Sifton, Midnight, produced by the Theatre Guild; Universal motion picture (1934); and West German television play (1957) 1931 Play written with Claire Sifton, 1931---, produced by the Group Theatre and the Theatre Guild; published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York; and produced in London as The Age of Plenty (1933) 1933 Play written with Claire Sifton, Blood on the Moon, produced at the Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif; the London, England, production was halted by the Lord Chamberlain as an unfriendly act to a foreign country, Germany 1933 1934 On editorial staff, New Yorker 1934 1938 Labor publications editor, assistant industrial commissioner, deputy industrial commissioner and administrator, and executive director, Division of Placement and Unemployment Insurance, New York State Department of Labor 1938 One-act play written with Claire Sifton, Give All Thy Terrors to the Wind, published in the New Theatre an Film Magazine (January 1938), and in the anthology, Best Short Plays of the Social Theatre, edited by William Kozlenko (New York, Random House, 1938) One-act play written with Claire Sifton, Kate Larsen, published in the One Act Play Magazine (June-July 1938 issue) 1938 1939 Deputy administrator, Wages and Hours Division, U.S. Department of Labor 1939 One-act play written with Claire Giinsburg Sifton, The Doctors, produced in Boston, Mass., and Baltimore, Md. 1939 1941 Consumers' counsel, Bituminous Coal Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior 1942 1945 Labor and public relations director, National Farmers' Union, Washington, D.C., office 1944 1945 Director, Washington D. C., office, Union for Democratic Action [later Americans for Democratic Action], and editor with Claire Sifton of the U.D.A. Congressional Newsletter 1945 1947 Worked on legislative and public relations for various causes, including Full Employment Bill (1945), protection of the Children's Bureau under Reorganization Bill No. 2 (1946), Labor Extension Service bill, National Council for a permanent Fair Employment Practices bill), National Consumers' League, and others 1948 1962 National legislative representative, United Automobile Workers [later part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations] 1963 Diagnosed as having chronic bronchitis; Veterans Administration awarded higher disability pension; emphysema and bronchiectasis claims disallowed as not service-connected 1972, Apr. 4 Died, Oaxaca, Mexico

Claire Sifton

1897, Dec. 23 Born, Campos, Rio de Janiero State, Brazil 1911 1914 Attended Greenville, S.C., Female Seminary, and Hyde Park School, Kansas City, Mo. 1915 1918 Attended Stephens College, Columbia, Mo. 1920 B.A. in journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. 1920 1922 Worked in Chicago, Ill., as feature writer for Montgomery Ward and Co., and the Saturday Blade 1922 Married Paul Field Sifton 1923 31 Worked as feature writer and freelance journalist for the Public Ledger, the Fifth Avenue Coach Co., and the New York Evening World syndicate, and others 1929 Published under the name of Claire Morton The Perfect Baby. New York: Vanguard Press 1930 Play written with Paul Field Sifton, Midnight, produced by the Theatre Guild; Universal motion picture (1934); and West German television play (1957) 1931 Play written with Paul Field Sifton, 1931---, produced by the Group Theatre and the Theatre Guild; published by Farrar & Rinehart, New York; and produced in London as The Age of Plenty (1933) 1933 Play written with Paul Field Sifton, Blood on the Moon, produced at the Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif.; London, England, production was halted by Lord Chamberlain as an unfriendly act to a foreign country, Germany 1938 One-act play written with Paul Field Sifton, Give All Thy Terrors to the Wind, published in the New Theatre and Film Magazine (January 1938), and in the anthology, Best Short Plays of the Social Theatre, edited by William Kozlenko. New York: Random House One-act play written with Paul Field Sifton, Kate Larsen, published in the One Act Play Magazine (June-July 1938) 1939 One-act play written with Paul Field Sifton, The Doctors, produced in Boston, Mass., and Baltimore, Md. theaters 1939 1942 Freelance writer, Washington, D.C. 1940 One-act play, Ernie, published in the One Act Play Magazine and Theatre Review (January 1940) 1943 1945 Coeditor with Paul Field Sifton of the U.D.A.Congressional Newsletter, for the Union for Democratic Action 1946 1948 Editorial consultant for the National Education Association and for the U.S. Children's Bureau 1949 1962 Freelance writer, Washington, D.C. 1980, Feb. 9 Died, Oaxaca, Mexico

From the guide to the Paul Field Sifton and Claire Sifton Papers, 1912-1980, (bulk 1925-1971), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

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Subjects:

  • Labor movement
  • Labor unions
  • Lobbying
  • Reformers
  • Social problems
  • Theater and society

Occupations:

  • Authors
  • Dramatists
  • Editors
  • Lobbyists
  • Public officials

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