Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967) was an American magazine magnate who founded ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

'', and ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazines. He has been called "the most influential private citizen in the America of his day". Born in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

, China, to parents from the United States who were serving as

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, Luce moved to the US at the age of 15 and later attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He launched and closely supervised a stable of magazines that transformed journalism and the reading habits of millions of Americans. ''Time'' summarized and interpreted the week's news; ''Life'' was a picture magazine of politics, culture, and society that dominated American visual perceptions in the era before television; ''Fortune'' reported on national and international business; and ''Sports Illustrated'' explored the world of sports. Counting his radio projects and newsreels, Luce created the first multimedia corporation. He envisaged that the United States would achieve world hegemony, and in 1941 he declared the 20th century would be the "

American Century The American Century is a characterization of the period since the middle of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, technological, and cultural terms. It is comparable to the description of the p ...

Early life and education

Luce was born in Tengchow, Shandong, China, now Penglai, on April 3, 1898, the son of Elizabeth Root Luce and Henry Winters Luce, who was a

missionary. At 15, he was sent to the U.S. to attend the

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Lakeville, Connecticut. It educates approximately 600 students in grades 9–12, plus postgraduates. Founded in 1891, it was one of the first English-style boardi ...

in Connecticut, where he tried hard to overcome his stuttering. As a scholarship student he was isolated from the upper-class boys. He was subsidized by an elderly Chicago heiress,

Nancy Fowler McCormick Nancy Maria "Nettie" McCormick (; February 8, 1835 – July 5, 1923) was an American philanthropist. Through marriage, she became a member of the prominent McCormick family. Early life Nettie was born on February 8, 1835, at Brownsville in On ...

, who favored sons of missionaries. Applying himself to study, Luce quickly became the top student. He was especially strong in languages, studying Greek, Latin, French, and German, and already knowing Chinese. He edited the ''Hotchkiss Literary Monthly''. There, he first met

Briton Hadden Briton Hadden (February 18, 1898 – February 27, 1929) was the co-founder of ''Time'' magazine with his Yale classmate Henry Luce. He was ''Time''s first editor and the inventor of its revolutionary writing style, known as Timestyle. Thoug ...

; they became best friends. Hotchkiss was a feeder prep school for

. After a summer spent working on a Springfield newspaper, Luce matriculated in the fall of 1916. He was the top freshman academically, but grades did not confer as much prestige as a staff role on the ''

Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut, since January 28, 1878. Description Financially and editorially independent of Yale University since its founding, th ...

''. Only four freshmen were chosen by the ''News''; they included Luce and Hadden. When the U.S. entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917, a third of the students joined the army; the rest, including Luce, joined the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(ROTC) and attended class in uniform. Luce also joined Alpha Delta, a minor fraternity. His grades remained top-level, and every spare hour was devoted to newspaper work. Luce and Hadden were the two outstanding journalists; when the vote came in January 1918 for chairmanship of the ''News,'' Hadden beat Luce by one vote. Luce instead became managing editor and the two worked closely together and started planning their future. Meanwhile, the Army assigned them as ROTC leaders to train new recruits. The war ended before either was commissioned. In January 1919, Luce and Hadden returned to Yale University as juniors. In May 1919, they were both tapped into the prestigious

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

secret society. Luce tried, but failed, to win a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, but he was admitted to the university and paid his way. He spent the year travelling Europe, observing the post-World War I scene closely. He returned to the United States to take a newspaper job in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

as a junior reporter.

Career

Nightly discussions of the concept of a news magazine led Luce and Hadden, both age 23, to quit their jobs in 1922. Later that same year, they partnered with

Robert Livingston Johnson Robert Livingston Johnson (March 25, 1894 – January 16, 1966) was Temple University's third president (1941 to 1959) and a former vice president of Time Inc. Early life Johnson was born in New York City to Frank R. and Grace Bell Johnson. H ...

and another Yale classmate to form

Time Inc. Time Inc. (also referred to as Time & Life, Inc. later on, after their two onetime flagship magazine publications) was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New ...

Luce, supported by editor-in-chief

T. S. Matthews Thomas Stanley Matthews (January 16, 1901 – January 4, 1991) was an American magazine editor, journalist, and writer. He served as editor of ''Time'' magazine from 1949 to 1953. Background Thomas Stanley Matthews was born on January 16, 1901 ...

, appointed

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...

as acting Foreign News editor in 1944, despite the feuds that Chambers had with reporters in the field. Luce, who remained editor-in-chief of all his publications until 1964, maintained a position as an influential member of the Republican Party."Henry R. Luce: End of a Pilgrimage"
''

''. March 10, 1967 An instrumental figure behind the so-called "

China Lobby In American politics, the China lobby (Chinese: 中國遊說團) consisted of advocacy groups calling for American support for the Republic of China during the period from the 1930s until US recognition of the People's Republic of China in 1979 ...

", he played a large role in steering American foreign policy and popular sentiment in favor of

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

leader Chiang Kai-shek and his wife,

Soong Mei-ling Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling; March 4, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang (), was a Chinese political figure and socialite. The youngest of the Soong sisters, she married Chiang Kai-shek and played a prom ...

, in their war against the Japanese. (The Chiangs appeared in the cover of ''Time'' eleven times between 1927 and 1955.) Luce authored an editorial for ''Life'' in 1941, titled " The American Century", in which he defined the role of U.S. foreign policy for the remainder of the 20th century.

Personal life

Luce met his first wife, Lila Hotz, while he was studying at

in 1919. They married in 1923 and had two children, Peter Paul and Henry Luce III, before divorcing in 1935. In 1935, he married his second wife,

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce (; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, diplomat, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which had an all-female cast. He ...

, who had an 11-year-old daughter, Ann Clare Brokaw, whom he raised as his own. Luce died of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...

on February 28, 1967 in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. He was 68. At his death, he was said to be worth $100 million in Time Inc. stock. Most of his fortune went to the Henry Luce Foundation.

Legacy

He was honored by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

with a 32¢

Great Americans series The Great Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, starting on December 27, 1980, with the 19¢ stamp depicting Sequoyah, and continuing through 1999, the final stamp being the 55¢ Justin S. Mor ...

(1980–2000) postage stamp. Luce was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame.

Henry Luce Foundation

The

Henry Luce Foundation Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...

, Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization incorporated in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It was established in 1936 by Henry Luce in his thirties. His son Henry III served as its chairman and chief executive for many years.

References

External links

John Foster Dulles and Clare Boothe Luce link (pdf format)

The Henry Luce Foundation

Luce Center for American Art at the Brooklyn Museum – Visible Storage and Study Center
* Whitman, Alden

''The New York Times'', March 1, 1967.
PBS American Masters

Henry R. Luce Papers
at th
New-York Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luce, Henry 1898 births 1967 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford American anti-communists American magazine founders American magazine publishers (people) American mass media owners American Presbyterians Businesspeople from Yantai Children of American missionaries in China Connecticut Republicans Hotchkiss School alumni New Right (United States) People from Penglai, Shandong People from Ridgefield, Connecticut Skull and Bones Society Time (magazine) people Yale University alumni Members of Skull and Bones