Richard Harding Davis

Richard Harding Davis
Photograph taken in New York, 1890
Born	(1864-04-18)April 18, 1864 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	April 11, 1916(1916-04-11) (aged 51) New York City
Occupation	writer, war correspondent, journalist
Nationality	American
Period	19th and early 20th century
Genre	history, romantic novels, short stories
Subject	Africa, War, Cuba, Europe
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Richard Harding Davis (April 18, 1864 – April 11, 1916) was an American journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish–American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played a major role in the evolution of the American magazine. His influence extended to the world of fashion and he is credited with making the clean-shaven look popular among men at the turn of the 20th century.

Davis was born on April 18, 1864 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother Rebecca Harding Davis was a prominent writer in her day. His father, Lemuel Clarke Davis, was himself a journalist and edited the Philadelphia Public Ledger. As a young man, Davis attended the Episcopal Academy. In 1882, after an unhappy year at Swarthmore College, Davis transferred to Lehigh University, where his uncle, H. Wilson Harding, was a professor. While at Lehigh, Davis published his first book, The Adventures of My Freshman (1884), a collection of short stories. Many of the stories had originally appeared in the student magazine the Lehigh Burr. In 1885, Davis transferred to Johns Hopkins University.

After college, his father helped him gain his first position as a journalist at the Philadelphia Record but he was soon dismissed. After another brief position at the Philadelphia Press, Davis accepted a better-paying position at the New York Evening Sun where he gained attention for his flamboyant style and his writing on controversial subjects such as abortion, suicide and execution. He first attracted attention in May to June 1889, by reporting on the devastation of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, following the infamous flood and added to his reputation by reporting on other noteworthy events such as the first electrocution of a criminal (the execution of William Kemmler in 1890).