William Allen White was born at Emporia, Kansas, on February 10, 1868, to Dr. Allen White and Mary Ann (Hatten) White. White attended the College of Emporia, and then the University of Kansas. He entered newspaper work, first in El Dorado, and later with the Kansas City Journal and the Kansas City Star . On April 27, 1893, he married Sallie Moss Lindsay of Kansas City.
In 1895, the Whites moved to Emporia, Kansas, where White purchased the Emporia Gazette . The Gazette soon gained national prominence for White's grass roots social and political editorials, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1923. White also wrote many articles and books, and was influential in state and national politics.
The Whites had two children--son William Lindsay and daughter Mary Katherine, who died at age sixteen from a horseback riding accident. White's editorial eulogy for his daughter was carried nationally and became one of his best-known writings. White died on January 29, 1944 at Emporia.
From the guide to the William Allen White collection, 1890-1970, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)
