Tadeusz Witold Szulc (July 25, 1926 – May 21, 2001) was an

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locat ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' from 1953 to 1972. Szulc is credited with breaking the story of the

Bay of Pigs invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fin ...

Early life

Szulc was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc. He attended

Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the cant ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

; it had left Poland in the mid-1930s. In Brazil, he studied at the

University of Brazil The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; pt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ') is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in th ...

, but in 1945, he abandoned his studies to work as a reporter for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Early career

In 1947 he moved from Brazil to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and in 1954, he became a US citizen. His emigration had been sponsored by

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S ...

John Cooper Wiley John Cooper Wiley (September 26, 1893 – February 3, 1967) was a United States Foreign Service officer and ambassador. Career Wiley was born in Bordeaux, France while his father served there as U.S. Consul. He was educated by tutors, and stu ...

, who was married to his aunt.

''New York Times''

From 1953 to 1972, Szulc was a foreign correspondent for ''

''. On April 6, 1961, nine days before the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

-supported

, Szulc wrote a ''Times'' article stating that an invasion of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

was "imminent." W Joseph Campell has disproved the legend that the ''Times'' killed the story after President John F. Kennedy personally telephoned publisher

Orvil Dryfoos Orvil Eugene Dryfoos (November 8, 1912 – May 25, 1963) was the publisher of '' The New York Times'' from 1961 to his death. He entered ''The Times'' family via his marriage to Marian Sulzberger, daughter of then-publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberge ...

, asking him to do so. The ''Times'' actually reduced the coverage in prominence and detail, but the article was still on the front page. Szulc's interest in Cuba continued over time, and he published an in-depth biography of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

. In 1968, Szulc was a reporter in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

during the Soviet invasion against the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First ...

. Szulc has also written articles regarding Latin America for several other publications, including ''

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 ...

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

, Penthouse,

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

'', and '' The Progressive''.

Death and legacy

In 2001, Szulc died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at his home, in Washington, D.C. He was survived by his wife and his two children. He was a Knight of the French ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

''.

Books

*''Pope John Paul II: The Biography'' () *''Chopin in Paris: The Life and Times of the Romantic Composer,'' Scribner, 1998 () *''The Secret Alliance: The Extraordinary Story of the Rescue of the Jews Since World War II'' () *''Fidel: A Critical Portrait'' () *''To Kill The Pope : An Ecclesiastical Thriller'' () *''Twilight of the Tyrants'' *''The Cuban Invasion'' *''The Winds of Resolution'' *''Dominican Diary'' *''Latin America'' () *''The Bombs of Palomares'' *''Portrait of Spain'' () *''Czechoslovakia Since World War II'' () *''Innocents at Home'' () *''Compulsive Spy: The Strange Career of E. Howard Hunt'' () *''The Illusion of Peace: Foreign Policy in the Nixon Years,'' Viking, 1978 * ''Then and Now: How the World Has Changed Since WW II'' ()

References

External links

Tad Szulc Collection of Interview Transcripts
with Fidel Castro and other government officials in Cuba and with Cuban exiles in Miami, Florida, from 1984 to 1985
Cuban Heritage Collection
of the University of Miami Libraries * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szulc, Tad 1926 births 2001 deaths Alumni of Institut Le Rosey 20th-century American non-fiction writers American reporters and correspondents Brazilian emigrants to the United States Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from lung cancer Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Polish emigrants to Brazil The New York Times writers Polish expatriates in Switzerland 20th-century American male writers