Daniel Longwell

Daniel Longwell (July 11, 1899 – November 20, 1968) was an American magazine editor. He was a founder and editor of Life magazine and served as the chairman of its editor's board until 1954.

Early life and education Longwell was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He rejected an appointment to the United States Military Academy and enrolled in Columbia University, graduating in 1922.

Career After college, Longwell worked for Doubleday and supervised publication of the works of a number of authors including Edna Ferber, Ellen Glasgow, Stephen Vincent Benét, Kenneth Roberts. He also edited a number of picture books.

In 1934, he left Doubleday and joined Time Inc. He was appointed special assistant to the magazine's managing editor, John Shaw Billings and was tasked by Henry Luce to create a "picture magazine". Longwell then headed an experimental group that drew up trial issues of the magazine that was launched as Life magazine in 1936. He was one of the three original editors of the magazine, along with Henry Luce and John Shaw Billings.

From 1936 to 1944, he was the executive editor of Life. He served as the managing editor from 1944 to 1946, and the chairman of its board of editors until his retirement in 1954. He was also credited for making Neosho the "Flowerbox City" by initiating the flowerbox program with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

A fellow Life editor, Loudon Wainwright wrote that "Possibly more than anyone else, Longwell rates consideration as the father of LIFE."

Personal life Longwell died in Neosho, Missouri, in 1968.