William Manchester

2025-10-12T13:54:16Z

2603:6010:100:6E85:59B5:4A37:3A6C:4F1B: Minor correction

{{Short description|American author, journalist and historian}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox writer
|name= William Manchester
|image= Portrait of William Manchester in c. 1967.jpg
|caption= Manchester in {{circa|1967}}
|birth_name= William Raymond Manchester
|birth_date= {{birth date|1922|4|1}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|2004|6|1|1922|4|1}}
|birth_place= [[Attleboro, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_place= [[Middletown, Connecticut]], U.S.
|resting_place= [[Indian Hill Cemetery]] in [[Middletown, Connecticut]], U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.granitesign.com/about-fox-becker.html|title=Connecticut Cemetery Memorial, Monument & Family Headstone Dealer - Fox-Becker, Connecticut (CT)|website=www.granitesign.com}}</ref>
|education= [[Massachusetts State College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) [[University of Missouri]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
|occupation= {{flatlist|
* Historian
* biographer
* professor
}}
|notableworks= ''[[American Caesar|American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964]]'', ''[[The Death of a President]]'', ''[[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill]]''
| signature = WilliamManchesterSig.png
| module = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| allegiance = United States
| branch = [[United States Marine Corps]]
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[Sergeant (United States)|Sergeant]]
| commands =
| unit = [[6th Marine Division (United States)|6th Marine Division]]
| battles = {{Tree list}}
*[[World War II]]
**[[Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign]]
***[[Battle of Okinawa]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards =
}}
}}
'''William Raymond Manchester''' (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004)<ref name=TimesObit>{{cite news |last1=Severo |first1=Richard |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/arts/william-manchester-whose-biographies-detailed-power-20th-century-dies-82.html |title=William Manchester, Whose Biographies Detailed Power in the 20th Century, Dies at 82 |date=June 2, 2004 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref> was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages.<ref>According to one writer, "Scholars generally disliked the biographies by Manchester. They were deemed superficial, anecdotal, hyperbolic, and hagiographic." Eugene L. Rasor, ''Winston S. Churchill, 1874–1965: A Comprehensive Historiography and Annotated Bibliography.'' Greenwood Press. 2000, p. 62.</ref> He was awarded the [[National Humanities Medal]] and the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award.

==Early life and education==
Manchester was born in [[Attleboro, Massachusetts]],<ref name=TelegraphObit>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1463459/William-Manchester.html |title=William Manchester [Obituary] |date=June 3, 2004 |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]] }}</ref> and grew up in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]].<ref name=TimesObit /> His father served in the [[U.S. Marine Corps]] during [[World War I]].

After his father's death and the [[Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor]], Manchester likewise enlisted in the Marine Corps. However, he was ordered back to college until called up. Initially, Manchester joined the Officer Candidate School but was dropped before receiving a commission. After being given the rank of corporal, he was sent to Guadalcanal in 1944 for further training. Although he had expected to serve in Europe, Manchester ultimately found himself in the Pacific Theater. He served in the [[Battle of Okinawa]], was severely wounded on June 5, 1945, and was promoted to sergeant<ref>Letters to his mother, July 1945, UMASS archives.</ref> in July and awarded the [[Purple Heart]].<ref name=TimesObit />

Following [[World War II]], Manchester worked as a copyboy for the ''[[Daily Oklahoman]]'' in 1945 before returning to college. In 1946, he completed his [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] from [[University of Massachusetts Amherst|Massachusetts State College]], where he was a member of the [[Lambda Chi Alpha]] fraternity. In 1947, he earned his master's degree from the [[University of Missouri]].

==Career==
===Journalism===
In 1947, Manchester went to work as a reporter for ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', where he met journalist [[H. L. Mencken]], who became his friend and mentor,<ref name=filkins/> and also became the subject of Manchester's master's thesis and first book, ''Disturber of the Peace''. The biography, published in 1951, profiles Mencken, the self-described "conservative anarchist" who made his mark as a writer, editor, and political pundit in the 1920s. In 1953, Manchester published his novel ''The City of Anger'', set in [[Baltimore]] and dealing with inner city life and the [[numbers game|numbers racket]], subjects Manchester had learned about as a big city reporter.

===Academia===
In 1955, Manchester became an editor for [[Wesleyan University]] and the [[Wesleyan University Press]] and spent the rest of his career at the university.<ref>{{cite web|last=Seidel |first=Rebecca |url=http://wesleyanargus.com/2010/01/29/university-to-unveil-william-manchester-writings-amid-return-of-jfk-manuscript/ |title=University To Unveil William Manchester Writings Amid Return of JFK Manuscript – Features |date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=The Wesleyan Argus |access-date=April 24, 2012}}</ref> For the academic year 1959–1960, he was a Fellow on the faculty at the Center for Advanced Studies of Wesleyan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/schome/FAs/ce1000-137.html |title=Guide to the Center for Advanced Studies Records, 1958 – 1969 |publisher=Wesleyan.edu |access-date=April 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314083709/http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/schome/FAs/ce1000-137.html |archive-date=March 14, 2017 }}</ref> He later became an [[adjunct professor]] of history, adjunct professor emeritus, and writer-in-residence at the university. During his association with Wesleyan University, Manchester developed an intense writing regimen that he adhered to for much of his life, often writing nonstop for up to 50 hours at a time. He described the experience as follows: "I would work all day, all night, all the next day, all the following night and into the third day. I would look up at the clock, and it would be 3:30 in the afternoon, and I would say, 'Oh boy, I've got three more hours to write.' I just loved it."<ref name=filkins/>

===Author===
Manchester's wartime experiences formed the basis for his very personal account of the [[War in the Pacific|Pacific Theater]], ''Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War''. In this memoir, Manchester used personal anecdotes from his service on Okinawa in his descriptions of battles on [[Guadalcanal]], [[Tarawa]], and [[Saipan]]. Manchester's portrayal of his wartime service, his [[Section (military unit)#United States Marine Corps|section]] in combat, and his injuries are literary devices. He stated this in the end notes, as well as denying any attempt at a chronological account.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/08/31/archives/pacific-combat.html|title=Pacific Combat |first=Ted|last=Morgan |date=August 31, 1980 |newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref> Later examination of his personal papers, his wartime record, and his medical records show that much of what he recounted was inaccurate.<ref name=Spectator>{{Cite magazine |url=https://spectator.org/stolen-valor-william-manchester-how-fake-news-became-fake-history/|last1=Tyrrell |first1=R. Emmett Jr. |last2=Flynn |first2=Daniel J. |title = Stolen Valor: The Fake History from a Real Historian That Fooled Presidents and Publishers |magazine=The American Spectator |date=May 25, 2017}}</ref>

Manchester also wrote of [[World War II]] in several other books, including a three-part biography, [[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill|''The Last Lion'']], of [[Winston Churchill]]. Manchester also wrote a biography of General [[Douglas MacArthur]], ''[[American Caesar]]''.

His best-selling book, ''[[The Death of a President]]'' (1967), is a detailed account of the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy]], who had been the subject of an earlier book by Manchester. In 1964, Manchester was commissioned by the Kennedy family to write the book.<ref>'Sam Kashner [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/10/death-of-a-president200910?currentPage=all "A Clash of Camelots"], ''Vanity Fair'', October 2009</ref> Manchester, who retraced the movements of President Kennedy and [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] before the assassination, tentatively concluded, based on his study of Oswald's psychology and their similar training as Marine sharpshooters, that Oswald had acted alone. Manchester had the support of [[Robert F. Kennedy|Robert]] and [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jacqueline Kennedy]], but later had a falling-out with Robert over Manchester's treatment of President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].

Before the book could be published, Jacqueline Kennedy filed a lawsuit to prevent its publication, even though she had previously authorized it. The suit was settled in 1967, reportedly with Manchester's agreeing to drop certain passages dealing with details of Kennedy's family life.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krassner |first1=Paul |url=http://www.nypress.com/16/34/news&columns/feature.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040208104724/http://www.nypress.com/16/34/news%26columns/feature.cfm |title=Slaughtering Cows and Popping Cherries |volume=16 |issue=34 |archive-date=February 8, 2004 |newspaper=[[New York Press]] |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Nobile |author-link=Philip Nobile |date=November 17, 2013 |title=JFK, Jackie Joined the Mile High-Club Day Before His Death |work=[[New York Post]]}}</ref> In response [[Satire|satirist]] [[Paul Krassner]] published a piece entitled "[[The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book]]", which imagined scandalous censored material.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ep.tc/realist/74/ |title=The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book |author=Paul Krassner |issue=74 |date=May 1967|publisher=[[The Realist]] }}</ref> In his collection of essays ''Controversy'' (1977), Manchester detailed Kennedy's attempts to suppress the book. The book was a best-seller at release, but was allowed to go out of print until 1988. It was re-issued in October 2013.<ref name="reissue">[[Associated Press]]. "[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/controversial-jfk-book-reissued-october-121506575.html;_ylt=A2KLOzG4kT9SwzAAF8TwFAx. Controversial JFK book to be reissued in October]" ''Yahoo! Finance'', September 17, 2013.</ref>

Following the death of his wife in 1998, Manchester suffered two strokes. Manchester told his publishers that he would not be able to complete the planned third volume of his three part-biography of Churchill, ''[[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965]]''. Manchester was initially reluctant to collaborate with anyone to finish the work,<ref name=filkins>{{cite news |last1=Filkins |first1=Dexter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/14/arts/14MANC.html |title=Ailing Churchill biographer says he can't finish trilogy |work=New York Times |date=August 14, 2001 |access-date=July 24, 2014 }}</ref> but in October 2003, he asked Paul Reid, a friend and writer for ''[[The Palm Beach Post]]'', to complete the Churchill biography. After Manchester's death, Reid completed the third volume using Manchester's notes and writing.

==Awards==
In 2001, President [[George W. Bush]] presented Manchester with the [[National Humanities Medal]]. In an interview conducted with a writer who was preparing capsule biographies of NEH medal recipients, Manchester stated that he had been valedictorian of his class at the University of Massachusetts and that he had received the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts; however, a 2017 article in the intellectual review ''The American Spectator'' asserted that none of this was true.<ref name=Spectator />

Manchester was also the recipient of the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award, among other awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/20020314.html |title=News Archive |publisher=Neh.gov |access-date=April 24, 2012}}{{dead link|date=June 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Manchester married Julia Brown Marshall (known as Judy) on March 27, 1948. They had one son, music composer John,<ref name="wm-manchester-son">{{cite web |title=Author: John Manchester |url=https://goodmenproject.com/author/john-manchester/ |website=Goodmen Project}}</ref> and two daughters, Julie and Laurie.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.granitesign.com/about-fox-becker.html |title=William Manchester |publisher=Nndb.com |date=March 27, 1948 |access-date=April 24, 2012}}</ref>

==Death==
Manchester died at the age of 82 on June 1, 2004,<ref name=WashingtonPost_Bernstein_20040604>{{cite news
| last = Bernstein | first = Adam
| title = Author of Military History William Manchester Dies
| work = [[The Washington Post]]
| page = B7
| date = June 4, 2004
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8180-2004Jun1.html?nav=lb |url-access=subscription
| access-date = July 21, 2008}}</ref> and is interred at [[Indian Hill Cemetery]] in [[Middletown, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. |date=August 19, 2016 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-7864-7992-4 |page=471 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=%22indian+hill+cemetery%22&pg=PA18 |access-date=July 14, 2019}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Disturber of the Peace: The Life of H.L. Mencken'' (1951)
* ''The City of Anger'', a novel. (1953)
* ''Shadow of the Monsoon'' (1956)
* ''A Rockefeller Family Portrait'', from John D. to Nelson (1959)
* ''Beard the Lion (Cairo Intrigue)'', a novel (1959)
* ''The Long Gainer'', a novel (1961)
* ''[[Portrait of a President]]'', John F. Kennedy in profile (1962, 1967)
* ''[[The Death of a President]]: November 20–25'' (1967)
* ''[[The Arms of Krupp]]: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty that Armed Germany at War'' (1968)
* ''[[The Glory and the Dream]]: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972'' (1974)
* ''[[Controversy and other essays in journalism]]'' (1976)
* ''[[American Caesar]]: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964'' (1978)
* ''On Mencken'', essays (1980)
* ''Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War'' (1980)
* ''One Brief Shining Moment: Remembering Kennedy'' (1983)
* ''[[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill]]: Visions of Glory, 1874–1932'' (1983)
* ''"Okinawa: The Bloodiest..."'', an essay. (1987)
* ''[[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill]]: Alone 1932–1940'' (1988)
* ''In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers.'' New York; London: [[W W Norton & Co Inc]], 1989. {{ISBN|0-393-02767-8}}. With essays by Manchester ("Images: a Wide Angle"), [[Jean Lacouture]] ("The Founders") and [[Fred Ritchin]] ("What is Magnum?"), and "Biographical Notes and Selected Bibliographies" and "Bibliography and Chronology of Magnum" by Stuart Alexander.
* ''[[A World Lit Only by Fire]]: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance—Portrait of an Age'' (1992) {{ISBN|0-316-54556-2}}
* ''Magellan'' (1994)
* ''No End Save Victory'' (2001)
* ''[[The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill]]: Defender of the Realm, 1940–1965'' (2012) (with co-author [[Paul Reid (writer)|Paul Reid]])

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Manchester}}
* {{Find a Grave|8858637}}
* [http://johnkmanchester.com/images/williammanchester Family photo archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184636/http://johnkmanchester.com/images/williammanchester |date=January 15, 2018 }}
* {{Imdb name|1398534}}
{{William Manchester}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchester, William}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American biographers]]
[[Category:20th-century American memoirists]]
[[Category:American military writers]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:American newspaper reporters and correspondents]]
[[Category:Burials at Indian Hill Cemetery]]
[[Category:Historians of the United States]]
[[Category:National Humanities Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Writers from Springfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Researchers of the assassination of John F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:The Baltimore Sun people]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers]]
[[Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni]]
[[Category:University of Missouri alumni]]
[[Category:Wesleyan University faculty]]
[[Category:20th-century American historians]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American historians]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:People from Middletown, Connecticut]]

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William Manchester