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Charles Wertenbaker

1901 – 1955

American journalist

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About Charles Wertenbaker

Lived 1901 – 1955 (aged 53). Charles Wertenbaker was an American journalist.

Charles Christian Wertenbaker. (11 February 1901 – 8 January 1955) was an American journalist for Time, and author.

Career Wertenbaker was born in 1901, the son of American football coach Bill Wertenbaker. He studied at the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.

Wertenbaker worked for Time publications (Fortune, Life, and Time) from 1931 to 1948.

By 1942, Wertenbaker was the magazine's foreign editor. Whittaker Chambers, who served as foreign editor later in World War II, described him and other colleagues in his 1952 memoir: I had scarcely edited it so long when most of Time's European correspondents joined in a round-robin protesting my editorial views and demanding my removal . They were seconded by a clap of thunder out of Asia, from the Time bureau in Chungking. Let me list the signers of the round-robin, or those among Time's foreign correspondents who supported it, and continued to feed out news written from the viewpoint that the Soviet Union is a benevolent democracy of unaggressive intent, or that the Chinese Communists are "agrarian liberals," for I think that they are enlightening. Foremost among them were: John Hersey, John Scott (son of my old teacher of the law of social revolution, Scott Nearing), Charles C . Wertenbaker, the late Richard Lauterbach, Theodore White.

Towards the end of the war, Wertenbaker reported from Paris, where he knew people like Ernest Hemingway and Irwin Shaw. He was one of many journalist who hung out at the Bar in the Hotel Scribe, as painted by colleague Floyd MacMillan Davis in Paris in 1945. Wertenbaker described the scene in an article for Life (magazine).

After the war, he remained in France, where he continued as both journalist and author. and a daughter, Timberlake Wertenbaker, a playwright. In 1955, Orson Welles became involved in a BBC series of documentaries, titled "Around the World with Orson Welles".

Death Wertenbaker died of colon cancer in 1955. After his death in Paris, his wife moved to New York and New Hampshire in 1966, settling in Keene, New Hampshire in 1985. "Paris is Free: Merci! Merci! Merci!" (September 4, 1944) "Germany's Chance on the Western Front" (January 15, 1945) "This Invasion Was Different" (April 2, 1945) "No. 21" (July 21, 1947) New Yorker "The Pursuit of the Wild Pigeon" (November 11, 1950) "Department of Amplification" (October 20, 1951) "The World on His Back" (December 26, 1953) "The Testing of M. Thulier" (June 5, 1954) Harper's Magazine: "Journey with Young Guitars" (December 1955)

Footnotes

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Episcopal High School
Employers
Time (magazine)
Also known as
Charles Christian Wertenbaker

Family & relationships

Spouse
Lael Tucker Wertenbaker
Child
Christian Wertenbaker
Child
Timberlake Wertenbaker
Parent
Bill Wertenbaker

People in Charles Wertenbaker's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Charles Wertenbaker's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Charles Wertenbaker?

American journalist

When was Charles Wertenbaker born?

Charles Wertenbaker was born on 11 February 1901 in Lexington.

When did Charles Wertenbaker die?

Charles Wertenbaker died on 8 January 1955.

What was Charles Wertenbaker's occupation?

Charles Wertenbaker was a journalist.

What nationality was Charles Wertenbaker?

Charles Wertenbaker was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Charles Wertenbaker

· Wikidata: Q5083449

· DBpedia: Charles Wertenbaker

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Charles Wertenbaker. https://biography.guide/charles-wertenbaker/

MLA: "Charles Wertenbaker." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/charles-wertenbaker/.

Chicago: "Charles Wertenbaker." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/charles-wertenbaker/.

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