Landon Young Jones Jr. (November 4, 1943 – August 17, 2024) was an American editor and author. He was the managing editor of ''
People magazine
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...
'' and the author of ''William Clark and the Shaping of the West'', a biography of
William Clark
William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
, joint leader of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
.
Background
Jones was born in
Rome, Georgia
Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statist ...
, in 1943.
He grew up in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, attending the
St. Louis Country Day School, and went on to attend
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, where he became involved with ''
The Daily Princetonian
''The Daily Princetonian'', originally known as ''The Princetonian'' and nicknamed the Prince, is the independent daily student newspaper of Princeton University. The newspaper is owned by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Co. and boasts a cir ...
''.
[
]
Career
After graduating in 1966, Jones was hired by Time Inc., writing first for its flagship ''Time'' magazine until 1971, when he spent three years editing '' Princeton Alumni Weekly''.[ He returned to Time Inc. and joined '']People
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' around the time of its founding in 1974.[ In 1989, he became its managing editor, holding the role for the next eight years.][ Under his watch, sales quadrupled, and he oversaw the launch of three related publications: '' In Touch'', '' People en Español'', and '']Who
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
''.[ He also served as editor of Time Inc.'s ''Money'' magazine from 1984 to 1989.][ He retired from the magazine business in 2000.][
Jones also edited a selection of the expedition journals, ''The Essential Lewis and Clark'', and was the author of ''Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation.''][ In a review for his last book, '' Celebrity Nation'', '']Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called him an "astute chronicler of celebrity culture". In ''Celebrity Nation'', Jones shares his analysis of over 75 celebrities over many decades and shows us how the apparatus of fame operates.
Personal life and death
Jones and his wife, the former Sarah Brown, had three children.[ He was resident of ]Princeton, New Jersey
The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
, for almost all of his adult life, but also maintained a residence near Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...
.[
Jones died from complications of ]myelofibrosis
Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a rare bone marrow blood cancer. It is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm, a group of cancers in which there is activation and growth of mutated cells in ...
at a hospital in Plainsboro, New Jersey, on August 17, 2024, at the age of 80.
Bibliography
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References
External Links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Landon
1943 births
2024 deaths
20th-century American journalists
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American magazine editors
American male journalists
American male non-fiction writers
Deaths from blood cancer in the United States
Deaths from cancer in New Jersey
Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School alumni
Princeton University alumni
Writers from Bozeman, Montana
Writers from Princeton, New Jersey
Writers from St. Louis County, Missouri