Gilbert, Rodney, 1889-

Rodney Gilbert (1889-1968) was an American conservative editorial writer and newspaper columnist.

Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Gilbert graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. In 1912 Gilbert went to China to travel the country; he began as a salesman for Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People but ended up spending 17 years there, becoming fluent in Chinese and eventually working as a correspondent for the North China Daily News . In 1926 his series of columns on traveling in Chinese Turkestan were compiled into his first book, What's Wrong With China . He was a strong supporter of Chinese nationalism and of Chiang Kai-Shek, and firmly anti-Communist.

In 1929 he joined the staff of the Herald Tribune as an editorial writer and returned to the United States. His editorials, which were largely conservative and anti-Communist in nature and which were published under the pseudonym "Heptisax," appeared regularly for 15 years, until 1944. From 1944 to 1946 Gilbert served as Dean of the Post-Graduate School of Journalism of the Central Political Institute of Chungking, organized and established under the auspices of Columbia University. Later, he collaborated with Columbia University to bring Chinese journalism students to the United States to study.

In addition to his Heptisax column, articles and book reviews under his own byline frequently appeared in the Herald Tribune and, later, in conservative-leaning magazines such American Legion and National Review .

From the guide to the Rodney Gilbert Papers, 1910-1968, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)