Lander, William Hall, 1903-

United Press International correspondent in Latin America, Spain, and at the White House.

From the description of Papers, ca. 1920-ca. 1949. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 46344961

Lander attended Trinity College from 1919 to 1924.

From the description of William H. Lander papers, 1919-1986. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 164582443

From http://www.duke.edu/web/Archives/history/why_blue_devil.html

William H. Lander was born in Williamston, South Carolina in 1903. Lander attended first grade in Greenwood, S.C. and other elementary grades in private and Methodist schools in Brazil. From 1917 to 1919, he attended Wofford Fitting School in Spartanburg, S.C.

In fall 1919, he began school at Trinity College (the early name of Duke University, used until 1924). Lander chose to join the Beta Lambda chapter of the Sigma Chi social fraternity, the Columbian Literary Society, and Sigma Upsilon literary fraternity. He joined the Order of the Tombs secret society during his junior year and the Order of Red Friars during his senior year. During the summer of 1922, Lander worked his way to Brazil as a sailor and got a job as an interpreter for an agency supplying American newspapers. He was assistant manager of the Trinity baseball team for three years and also served as writer, associate editor, and editor of the Trinity Chronicle .

As editor, Lander had a part in naming the school mascot the "Blue Devils". The editors of The Archive and The Chanticleer, two of the other student publications, agreed that the newspaper staff should choose a name and "put it over." Lander, editor-in-chief, and managing editor Mike Bradshaw began the academic year 1922-23 referring to the athletic teams as the Blue Devils, in honor of a World War I French Alpine regiment. Their class had been the first post-war freshmen, and the student body was full of returning veterans so the name needed no explanation. Acknowledging that it was somewhat unpopular, they nevertheless believed it to be the best name nominated. The Trinity Chronicle staff continued its use and through repetition, Blue Devils eventually caught on. Lander received is two degrees from Trinity College: an AB (1923) and AM in History (1924).

In 1924, he went to New York to work for J. Walter Thompson, a leading advertising agency. He later joined United Press, where he worked for 11 years in the United States and 11 years abroad. In 1946, he joined the Public Relations staff of Du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1960, he took on the position of Director of Public Information of the Organization of American States, an organization that supports legal development in the Americas. From 1961 to 1963, he was an information officer in Mexico City at the United States Embassy. He returned to publicity work at Union Carbide in New York in 1963. In 1969, he joined the staff of the Journal of Commerce at Wall Street, where he worked for 10 years until his retirement.

Lander was a member of the National Press Club, the Society of Silurians, and the Overseas Press Club. In 1942, he was awarded Order of Merit of Ecuador and was made an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa by the Duke University chapter. He and his wife, Margaret Slade Lander, lived in New York City, N.Y. William Hall Lander died in 1993.

From the guide to the William H. Lander papers, 1919-1986, (University Archives, Duke University)