Donald Frank Rose
Encyclopedia
Donald Frank Rose was an American newspaper columnist, lecturer, and author.
. At age 14, he went to work as a clerk at a brewery in Surrey, until the time of his emigration to the United States in 1908. While working at the brewery, however, he got a foretaste of what would eventually become his long-term profession. At the age of seventeen, he entered an essay contest run by the English magazine The Reader. And for his speculations on what the world would be like in the year 2000, he won a prize of two dollars and fifty cents.
The plan in going to America was that he should study to become a minister in the New Church, as his great-grandfather, the Rev. James Shirley Hodson, had been before him. He crossed the Atlantic in the Autumn of 1908 on the USS Saint Paul, but he was seasick and singularly unimpressed with the seaworthiness of the vessel. He professed himself unsurprised that the ship capsized while docking in New York ten years later.
The path to the ministry entailed finishing his secondary education the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools
, receiving an undergraduate degree at the affiliated college, and then continuing into the Theological School. After two years of study for the ministry, he gave up that ambition, as he later liked to say, "for the good of the church." At that point he turned instead to teaching and writing to support his growing family; for on June 13, 1914, he had married Marjorie Wells and over the next 17 years they had twelve children. One of his 86 grandchildren is New York Times culture critic Neil Genzlinger
.
and Oxford University. He continued teaching until 1924, at which point he launched out on his own as a freelance writer.
He began publishing his own magazine, Stuff and Nonsense, in 1925, with lighthearted and humorous reflections on the challenges of day-to-day life. He also wrote articles for The American, Cosmopolitan, Saturday Evening Post, and a number of other magazines.
In 1927, "Stuff and Nonsense" became a weekly column for the Sunday Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
. Eventually, at about the time that the morning and Sunday editions merged with the Philadelphia Inquirer, the column went to daily in the Evening Public Ledger. When the latter ceased publication in 1942, Rose's column moved to The Philadelphia Bulletin, during the period when the Bulletin was the largest afternoon daily in the country. "Stuff and Nonsense" appeared on the Op-Ed page and Rose was also sometimes called on to write unsigned editorials on the editorial page itself. He continued his column at the Bulletin until the time of his death. Between 1927 and 1951, he published 8 books, several of them being collections of his newspaper columns.
At the end of World War II
, he was sent by the Bulletin to survey the aftermath of the destruction. This resulted in a number of columns and his book Diary of a Postwar Correspondent. What he saw left him shaken, and his wife observed that this experience weakened him for rest of his life.
In his later years, Rose taught journalism courses at Columbia
, Penn State, Temple University
, and the Charles Morris Price School of Advertising and Journalism.
Rose died on February 7, 1964 at Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania.
Early life and education
Rose was born on June 29, 1890 to Frank Hodson Rose and Mary Anne Harriette Searle Rose, in Street, Somerset, England. He later observed that it was a good place to born an Englishman, as his birthplace on Wilfred Terrace was but three miles from Glastonbury TorGlastonbury Tor
Glastonbury Tor is a hill at Glastonbury, Somerset, England, which features the roofless St. Michael's Tower. The site is managed by the National Trust. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument ....
. At age 14, he went to work as a clerk at a brewery in Surrey, until the time of his emigration to the United States in 1908. While working at the brewery, however, he got a foretaste of what would eventually become his long-term profession. At the age of seventeen, he entered an essay contest run by the English magazine The Reader. And for his speculations on what the world would be like in the year 2000, he won a prize of two dollars and fifty cents.
The plan in going to America was that he should study to become a minister in the New Church, as his great-grandfather, the Rev. James Shirley Hodson, had been before him. He crossed the Atlantic in the Autumn of 1908 on the USS Saint Paul, but he was seasick and singularly unimpressed with the seaworthiness of the vessel. He professed himself unsurprised that the ship capsized while docking in New York ten years later.
The path to the ministry entailed finishing his secondary education the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools
Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools
The Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools consists of an accredited, private girls' school and boys' school providing 9th through 12th graders with an education inspired by the New Church, an international Christian faith based on the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg.-History:The Academy began...
, receiving an undergraduate degree at the affiliated college, and then continuing into the Theological School. After two years of study for the ministry, he gave up that ambition, as he later liked to say, "for the good of the church." At that point he turned instead to teaching and writing to support his growing family; for on June 13, 1914, he had married Marjorie Wells and over the next 17 years they had twelve children. One of his 86 grandchildren is New York Times culture critic Neil Genzlinger
Neil Genzlinger
Neil Genzlinger is an American playwright, editor, book reviewer, and theatre and television critic. He frequently writes for The New York Times, where he is a copy editor....
.
Career
Rose began his career teaching high school English while he was a still himself a student in theological school. In 1915 he added Latin to his teaching responsibilities. By 1916, he was giving instruction in Hebrew as well. During his years of teaching, he pursued additional education at ColumbiaColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Oxford University. He continued teaching until 1924, at which point he launched out on his own as a freelance writer.
He began publishing his own magazine, Stuff and Nonsense, in 1925, with lighthearted and humorous reflections on the challenges of day-to-day life. He also wrote articles for The American, Cosmopolitan, Saturday Evening Post, and a number of other magazines.
In 1927, "Stuff and Nonsense" became a weekly column for the Sunday Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
The Public Ledger was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania published from March 25, 1836 to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation declined in the mid-1930s.-Early history:Founded by William...
. Eventually, at about the time that the morning and Sunday editions merged with the Philadelphia Inquirer, the column went to daily in the Evening Public Ledger. When the latter ceased publication in 1942, Rose's column moved to The Philadelphia Bulletin, during the period when the Bulletin was the largest afternoon daily in the country. "Stuff and Nonsense" appeared on the Op-Ed page and Rose was also sometimes called on to write unsigned editorials on the editorial page itself. He continued his column at the Bulletin until the time of his death. Between 1927 and 1951, he published 8 books, several of them being collections of his newspaper columns.
At the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was sent by the Bulletin to survey the aftermath of the destruction. This resulted in a number of columns and his book Diary of a Postwar Correspondent. What he saw left him shaken, and his wife observed that this experience weakened him for rest of his life.
In his later years, Rose taught journalism courses at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Penn State, Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, and the Charles Morris Price School of Advertising and Journalism.
Rose died on February 7, 1964 at Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania.
Books
- Stuff and Nonsense. 1927.
- Wings of Tomorrow The Story of The Autogiro, (with Juan De La Cierva). New York: Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1931.
- Hardy Perennial. 1937.
- Mother Nature Knows Best. Philadelphia, Westbrook Publishing Co., 1940.
- My Own Four Walls. New York, Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1941.
- Mr. Wicker's War. Macrae-Smith Co. Philadelphia 1943.
- The Diary of a Postwar Correspondent. Bryn Athyn, PA, 1943.
- Full House. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Co., 1951.
- Leary's of Philadelphia. c.1964.
Articles
- "Table Talk: The Pessimism of Protoplasm," Forum: The Magazine of Controversy, Vol. 80, no. 3, September 1928.
- "This Book Collecting Game," North American Review, February 1929, pp. 248–250.
- "The Great American Editorial," Forum: The Magazine of Controversy, Vol. 82, no. 5, November 1929.
External links
- A website with letters between Rose and his wife http://widowwidowers.com