Robert Forrest Wilson (January 20, 1883 in
Warren, Ohio
Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
– May 9, 1942 in
Weston, Connecticut
Weston ( ) is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and had the highest median income in the state of Connecticut. The town is part of the ...
)
was an American author and journalist. He won the 1942 Pulitzer Prize for his biography, ''Crusader in Crinoline: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...
''.
Wilson was born in Warren, Ohio
Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
, to parents James Forrest and Harriet Rose (Larned) Wilson. He studied the arts at the California School of Fine Arts in 1939 and received his Ph.D. at Union Graduate School. He also studied the arts in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and at Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
in New York.
Early in his career, he worked as reporter, before enlisting in the U.S.Army, where he served as a captain, worked as a researcher and later served as an Assistant Secretary of War. He co-authored and authored several books and magazine articles.
Career
Wilson reported for Scripps Newspapers from 1910 to 1916, in Washington D.C. Later, during the First World War
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 ...
he served as a captain with the US Army Chemical Warfare Service and later (1923-1927) as Assistant Secretary of War charged with gathering historical data on the conflict, much of which formed the basis of a series of six co-authored works about mobilization: ''How America Went to War,'' published in 1921. (See selected works below)
After the war, like tens of thousands of Americans, Wilson moved to Paris and lived there for some years, a period which he details in his book, ''Paris On Parade.'' He worked as a European correspondent for McCall's
''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...
, (1923-1927) writing about life in Paris. Wilson wrote an article about a bookshop in Paris, "Shakespeare and Company," in 1925, titled, ''"Paris for Young Art,"'' published by '' The Bookman.''
Two articles on fashion, "The House of Louisboulanger," and "''The House of Camille Roger,"'' appeared in the 1926 and 1927 issues of Vogue (magazine)
''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly Fashion journalism, fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and Fashion show#Catwalk, runw ...
.
Wilson wrote the words and music for the song, "Go and teach the Kaiser how to sing the Marseillaise, then come home to me," published in 1918.
Selected works
* ''How America Went to War: an account from official sources of the nation's war activities 1917–1920'', co-author with Benedict (Crowell Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, 1921.
* ''The Road to France: the transportation of troops and military supplies 1917–1918'', co-author with Benedict Crowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, 1921.
*''Our Nation's Manufacture of Munitions for a World Arms: 1917–1918,'' co-author with Benedict Crowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, ''1921.''
* ''Demobilization: our industrial and military demobilization after the armistice, 1918–1920,'' co-author with Benedict Cowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, New Haven, 1921.
*''The Giant Hand: Our Mobilization and Control of Industry and Natural Resources 1917–1918,'' co-author with Benedict Crowell (Assistant Secretary of War), Yale University Press, New Haven, 1921.
*''The Living Pageant of the Nile'', Bobbs Merrill, 1924.
*''Paris on Parade'', co-author with A.G. Warshawsky, Bobbs Merrill, Indianapolis, 1925.
*''Rich Brat'': ''a novel of Paris,'' Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1929.
* ''How to Wine and Dine in Paris (Chapters from "Paris on Parade"),'' Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1930.
* ''Crusader in Crinoline: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe'', J.B. Lippincott Company, 1941.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Forrest
1883 births
1942 deaths
American male journalists
20th-century American biographers
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners
People from Warren, Ohio
Writers from Ohio
American travel writers
Place of death missing
American male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
Journalists from Ohio
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American male biographers