Keith Monroe
Encyclopedia
Keith Monroe was an American author of children's science fiction and of books and magazine articles about Boy Scouting
.
Monroe attended Stanford University
and UCLA. He worked as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune
, for advertising and public relations firms, and for North American Rockwell. At times, he was a full-time freelance writer.
His work appeared in such magazines as Saturday Evening Post, New Yorker, Harper's
, Blue Book
, Galaxy
, Argosy
, Boys' Life
, and Scouting. His pseudonyms included Donald Keith, Rice E. Cochran, and Dale Colombo.
He wrote articles for Scouting
, the magazine for adult Scout leaders; merit badge
instruction pamphlets; and fiction for Boys' Life
. Under the name Rice E. Cochran, he published Be Prepared!, a humorous memoir of his experiences as a Scoutmaster. It was the basis for a 1953 movie, Mister Scoutmaster.
with his father, Donald Monroe, Keith Monroe wrote the Time Machine series
, which were originally published in Boys' Life
magazine between 1959 and 1989.
"Donald Keith" also contributed stories to Galaxy Science Fiction
and Blue Book
.
Using another pseudonym, Dale Colombo, Keith Monroe published in Boys' Life
a series about Scouts in space, featuring a protagonist named Ed Linden, set aboard the spaceship Magellan. These Scouts had been born in interstellar space during the decades-long journey from Earth to planets orbiting a distant star.
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
.
Monroe attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and UCLA. He worked as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
, for advertising and public relations firms, and for North American Rockwell. At times, he was a full-time freelance writer.
His work appeared in such magazines as Saturday Evening Post, New Yorker, Harper's
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, Blue Book
Blue Book (magazine)
Blue Book was a popular 20th-century American magazine with a lengthy 70-year run under various titles from 1905 to 1975.Launched as The Monthly Story Magazine, it was published under that title from May 1905 to August 1906 with a change to The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine for issues from...
, Galaxy
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
, Argosy
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
, Boys' Life
Boys' Life
Boys' Life is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America . Its targeted readership is young American males between the ages of 6 and 18.Boys' Life is published in two demographic editions...
, and Scouting. His pseudonyms included Donald Keith, Rice E. Cochran, and Dale Colombo.
Scouting
Monroe was deeply involved with Scouting. He served as Scoutmaster for Troop 2 in Santa Monica, California, from its founding in December 1945 until 1987.He wrote articles for Scouting
Scouting magazine
Scouting magazine is a five-times-a-year publication of the Boy Scouts of America . The target audience is adult leaders of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers. It carries news on Scouting events, articles on aspects of Scouting such as service, outdoor skills and activities, and features about...
, the magazine for adult Scout leaders; merit badge
Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America)
Merit badges are awards earned by youth members of the Boy Scouts of America , based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to...
instruction pamphlets; and fiction for Boys' Life
Boys' Life
Boys' Life is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America . Its targeted readership is young American males between the ages of 6 and 18.Boys' Life is published in two demographic editions...
. Under the name Rice E. Cochran, he published Be Prepared!, a humorous memoir of his experiences as a Scoutmaster. It was the basis for a 1953 movie, Mister Scoutmaster.
Science Fiction
Collaborating under the pseudonym Donald KeithDonald Keith
Donald Keith was a pseudonym for authors Donald and Keith Monroe . They are best known for their series of stories in the Time Machine series, which were originally published in Boys' Life magazine between 1959 and 1989...
with his father, Donald Monroe, Keith Monroe wrote the Time Machine series
Time Machine series
The Time Machine series of science fiction stories for children, published between 1959 and 1989 in Boys' Life magazine, featured a group of American Boy Scouts who acquire an abandoned time machine. The Polaris Patrol visited the future and the past, sometimes recruiting new Scouts...
, which were originally published in Boys' Life
Boys' Life
Boys' Life is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America . Its targeted readership is young American males between the ages of 6 and 18.Boys' Life is published in two demographic editions...
magazine between 1959 and 1989.
"Donald Keith" also contributed stories to Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
and Blue Book
Blue Book (magazine)
Blue Book was a popular 20th-century American magazine with a lengthy 70-year run under various titles from 1905 to 1975.Launched as The Monthly Story Magazine, it was published under that title from May 1905 to August 1906 with a change to The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine for issues from...
.
Using another pseudonym, Dale Colombo, Keith Monroe published in Boys' Life
Boys' Life
Boys' Life is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America . Its targeted readership is young American males between the ages of 6 and 18.Boys' Life is published in two demographic editions...
a series about Scouts in space, featuring a protagonist named Ed Linden, set aboard the spaceship Magellan. These Scouts had been born in interstellar space during the decades-long journey from Earth to planets orbiting a distant star.
External links
- Troop 2 memorial page for Keith Monroe
- Obituary in Scouting
- List of Time Machine stories compiled by William S. Higgins
- List of Dale Colombo stories compiled by William S. Higgins