Alden R. Hatch (September 16, 1898 - February 1, 1975) was an American writer. He was the son of May D. Hatch and her husband Frederic H. Hatch, owner of a successful Wall Street stock brokerage firm he founded in 1888. Alden's brother, Eric S. Hatch, was a writer on the staff of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' and a novelist and screenwriter best known for his book ''1101 Park Avenue'' that became a hit film under the title '' My Man Godfrey''. Born in New York City, Alden Hatch was the author of more than 40 books. A number of his works chronicled the lives of a variety of high-profile individuals such as Pope Pius XII,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

, Brother André, Charles de Gaulle,

Prince Bernhard , house = Lippe , father = Prince Bernhard of Lippe , mother = Armgard von Cramm , birth_date = , birth_name = Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld , birth_place = Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Germany , death_date = ...

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the first lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household i ...

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and

Edith Bolling Wilson Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which ha ...

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...

and what Hatch described as a "novelized biography" of Franklin Roosevelt. A fan of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse racing, in 1938 he collaborated with Foxhall Keene on a biography of the late James R. Keene, the renowned horseman and owner of

Castleton Farm Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, is an American horse-racing stable and breeding business best known by the name Castleton Farm. History The farm was established in 1793 when Virginian John Breckinridge, a future U.S. senator and a ...

. Hatch wrote several books on his friend, Dwight Eisenhower, and his official biography was used by the General during his 1952 presidential campaign. Hatch also co-authored ''The Circus Kings'' with Henry Ringling North. Alden Hatch was first married in 1932 to Ruth Brown, they divorced in 194

and in 1950 he remarried to Miss Allene Pomeroy Gaty. Alden Hatch is the father of Denison (Denny) Hatch, a copywriting expert, author, and former editor-in-chief of ''Target Marketing'' magazine. For a number of years, Alden Hatch lived in his parents' home in Cedarhurst, New York, Cedarhurst, Long Island. Following a brief illness, he died at age seventy-six at his winter home in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

. Alden Hatch's personal typist for many years was Ruth Townsend of Cedarhurst New York. She began typing Mr. Hatch's manuscripts in her home in Cedarhurst in the early 1950s, and continued typing his books into the 1970s. When Mr. Hatch moved from Cedarhurst, New York to Sarasota, Florida, Ruth Townsend continued to type his manuscripts that were mailed from Florida to New York. (from Stockton Townsend, son of Ruth Townsend) Alden Hatch's papers and those of his wife Allene reside in the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries. A guide is availabl
here

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, Alden R. 1898 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American biographers American male biographers Writers from New York City People from Cedarhurst, New York People from Sarasota, Florida Historians from New York (state)