Judson Churchill Welliver

Judson Churchill Welliver (August 13, 1870 – April 14, 1943) was a "literary clerk" to President Warren G. Harding and is usually credited as being the first presidential speechwriter.

Biography Judson Welliver was born on August 13, 1870, in Aledo, Illinois.

He married his wife, Jane Douglas Hutchins, on July 3, 1899. They had four children—Edward M., Allan J., Sarah H., and Jane Douglas.

By 1909, Welliver had earned a reputation as "one of the most able journalists in the country".

He was sent to Europe by President Roosevelt in 1907 to report on the waterway and railroad systems of Europe and Great Britain. After he resigned from the American Petroleum job in 1927, Welliver went on to become editor of the Washington Herald in 1928.

The Judson Welliver Society, a bipartisan social club composed of former presidential speechwriters, is named in his honor.

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