Murder of Paul Guihard

Paul Guihard (1931 – 30 September 1962) was a French-British journalist for Agence France-Press. He was murdered in the 1962 riot at the University of Mississippi while covering the events surrounding James Meredith's attempts to enroll at the all-white university. The only known journalist to have been killed in the backlash to the Civil Rights Movement, his murder remains unsolved.

Guihard was born in London in 1931, the son of an English mother and a French father, both of whom worked in the hotel industry. He had a brother, Alain Guihard. He was a dual citizen of France and the United Kingdom. In 1935, his parents purchased London's Rhodesia Court Hotel, and sent the three-year-old Guihard to stay with his grandparents while they attended to the new business. He remained in Saint-Malo until the end of World War II, and at fourteen returned to his parents in London. There he attended the French Lycée and the University of London, where he earned a degree in international affairs.

Guihard was always interested in writing and found part-time work with Agence France-Presse (AFP) while in his teens, covering the 1948 London Olympics for the agency. His dedication to his work earned him the nickname "Flash". At 19 he joined the British Army, serving at the Suez Canal. He joined Agence France-Presse full time in 1953 after his discharge. AFP transferred him to its English-speaking desk in Paris in 1927 and assigned him to the New York office the following year. In New York Guihard chiefly worked as an editor, also occasionally contributing stories for AFP af and freelancing for London's Daily Sketch. He also wrote plays, including "The Deck Chair", which was performed in New York and later adapted into French for several performances in France .

On 30 September 1962, AFP assigned Guihard to cover the developing story of James Meredith's enrollment at the University of Mississippi, the first time an African-American enrolled at the school. As an editor, Guihard infrequently went out on assignment, and did not regularly cover the Civil Rights beat; in fact Guihard had the day off. However, the agency was short staffed and felt the story needed to be covered, and so called in Guihard and photographer Sammy Schulman to go to Mississippi.

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