Whitelaw Reid

Whitelaw Reid (July 26, 1913 – April 18, 2009) was an American journalist who later served as editor, president and chairman of the family-owned New York Herald Tribune. An avid sportsman throughout his life, he won a national singles title in his age group at age 85 and a national doubles title at age 90, both in tennis.

Early life Reid was born to Helen Rogers Reid and Ogden Mills Reid at the family estate, Ophir Hall, in Purchase, New York, on July 26, 1913. He was given the name of his grandfather Whitelaw Reid, who published the newspaper and also served as United States Ambassador to both France and the United Kingdom, as well as being the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee with incumbent President Benjamin Harrison in 1892. His brother, Ogden R. Reid (b. 1925), was a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a four-term United States representative from New York.

His early education was at the Lincoln School, New York City, New York, and at the St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire. He later attended Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, where he was awarded a degree in sociology in 1936. While in college, he sailed a schooner across the Atlantic Ocean from Norway to the U.S. with a group of his fellow students and was a member of the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union. and assumed the title of chairman in April 1955, succeeding his mother, at the same time his brother Ogden R. Reid was named as publisher. Reid's leadership of the paper saw circulation increase, while journalistic standards declined. A paper that The New York Times described as "a newspaperman's newspaper," staffed by talented reporters, resorted to puzzles and gimmicks to draw readers.

Sale of The New York Herald Tribune In 1958, Ambassador and investor John Hay Whitney bought the parent company from the Reid family. Whitney instituted a redesign and hired new reporters, but his efforts failed to revive the paper, which succumbed to the effects of strikes and other difficulties when what had become the New York World Journal Tribune ceased publication in 1967. The suspension of publication by the World Journal Tribune on May 5, 1967, left New York City with three major daily newspapers — the Daily News, the New York Post and The New York Times — the same papers that have served the city for the succeeding decades.

While with the Herald Tribune, Reid was the president of The Fresh Air Fund, a fundraising effort run through the paper that helped provide summer vacations for underprivileged children living in New York City. After the paper's demise, the program was carried on by The New York Times. She was the daughter of Carter Brandon and Dorothy Brandon, a member of the editorial staff at the Herald Tribune.

Brandon Reid (b. 1950), who married Betsy Lipman in 1971. They divorced and he later married Diane M. McCabe in 1983. Carson Reid (Kit) (b. 1952), who married Jeanne Marie Haverbeck in 1982. He later married Tamar Clarke, which ended in divorce. In 1959, Whitey was married to his second wife, the former Elizabeth Ann Brooks. She was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Graham Brooks. Together, Elizabeth and Whitelaw had two children, a son and a daughter:

An avid tennis player for most of his life, Reid won the national indoor singles championship in 1998 for competitors age 85 and older, earning the fourth spot in nationwide rankings in his age group. Reid was a pilot, yachtsman, skier, swimmer and rode horses, in addition to his lifelong passion for playing tennis. Through his son Carson (Kit), he was the grandfather of three, including Helen Reid, Brandon Reid, and Charlie Reid. Through his son John, he was the grandfather of Kelby B. Reid and Caitlyn C. Reid and through his daughter Gina, he was the grandfather of C. Reid Maxmin.