Leon Daniel
| Leon Daniel | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 8, 1931 Etowah, Tennessee |
| Died | March 19, 2006 (aged 74) Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States |
| Nationality | US |
| Education | University of Tennessee |
| Occupation | National Correspondent, and Managing Editor for International News for UPI |
| Years active | 1956–97 |
| Partner(s) | Judith Paterson |
| Children | Lillian Daniel |
Leon Daniel (August 8, 1931 – March 19, 2006) was a reporter, manager, and senior editor of United Press International (UPI). He was considered to be the "gold standard" in wire service reporting.
Daniel is most well known for his reporting during the Vietnam War where he remained while many foreign correspondents fled the country, as well as for his coverage of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. Daniel wrote one of his more notable pieces, published on June 12, 1977, on the escape from prison of James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr.
At age 19, Daniel enlisted in the Marines and became a rifle squad leader during the Korean War. He was awarded the Purple Heart following shrapnel wounds to his ankle. After returning from service in the Korean War, Daniel attended the University of Tennessee, and shortly after, began his career in journalism by joining the Knoxville Journal.
In 1956, Daniel became a reporter for United Press International in their Nashville office and was promoted to manager in their Knoxville branch in 1959. He later was promoted to report at UPI's southern headquarters in Atlanta in 1960.
Daniel began reporting on the civil rights movement between 1960–1966 during his placement in UPI's headquarters in Atlanta. Colleagues noted that his coverage of the civil rights movement was "the story he considered the most important he ever reported." His coverage included stories from Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, among others. Daniel was responsible for coverage of the events related to desegregation occurring in the southern U.S., such as "The Battle of Ole Miss" where riots broke out at the University of Mississippi in protest of the enrollment of the black student, James Meredith. He also covered the Selma to Montgomery marches led by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 in protest of the recent, violent incident known as "Bloody Sunday". Daniel did cover civil rights-related events in Philadelphia, Mississippi, however, where he reported on the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. He commented that the populace at the time was "a very dangerous town for any outsiders, not just civil rights workers."
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