Peter Rhodes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

* __NOTOC__ Peter Christopher Rhodes (1909–1965) was an American
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and writer who worked for the
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
news service and for the United States
Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
.


Personal life


Family

Rhodes was born on September 18, 1909,Social Security Death Index
/ref> the son of Christof Beutinger of Germany and Margaret Claire Abrahams of Jamaica, British West Indies.George Garrigues, ''The Battered Wife and Her Five Little Kids All Dressed in White,'' City Desk Publishing, 2016
/ref> He had four siblings, Frederick, William, Margaret, and Marie. On July 12, 1916, their father was shot and killed by his wife in their
Caldwell, New Jersey Caldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City and north-west of Newark, the state's most populous city. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population ...
, home. The wife was tried for murder, pleaded self-defense, and was found innocent.


Marriage

Rhodes was married to Ione Boulenger, a teacher, in
Brussels, Belgium Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, in 1936. Selective Service records showed that Rhodes claimed as dependents daughters Ann Margaret and Alice and a son, David. They lived in Knickerbocker Village, New York City, in 1941–43, and around 1946 they moved to Amenia, Dutchess County, New York. Boulenger was general secretary of the Office International pour l'Enfance in 1938.


Death

Rhodes died in
Monroe County, Florida Monroe County is the southernmost county of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,874. Its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys and comprises the Key West-Key Largo Micr ...
, in September 1965.


Education

Rhodes attended
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
between 1929 and 1933, when he received a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
. He received a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
there in June 1934. He was rated as a "very good student, of excellent character and reputation." He then received a Kellett Fellowship of $2,000 at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, where he had an excellent record. Federal Bureau of Investigation, ''Julius Rosenberg et al., Silvermaster,'' FBI File No. 65-56402
/ref>"Newspaperman One of Speakers for C of C Dinner," ''The Morning Call,'' Allentown, Pennsylvania, February 18, 1941, page 5
/ref>


Professional career

In late 1936 Rhodes worked for the
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
in Paris, and then he was employed in that city by
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
. He covered the early stages of the German invasion of France in 1940. He also worked in London, Copenhagen and Stockholm. He was in
Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...
, Norway, "when the first German destroyers steamed into the harbor and he reported exclusively the part played by the Norwegian commander in delivering the port to the Germans." Rhodes wrote a story for United Press recounting his 1940 travel across the Soviet Union on his way to Tokyo, Japan, where he was able to file a report. In August he worked in New York on the
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
desk. While awaiting reassignment, Rhodes spoke at a joint meeting of the Cincinnati Lodge of Elks and the Cincinnati Newspaperman's Club in September 1940. On October 24, 1940, Rhodes was guest speaker along with Publisher
David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...
of the ''Camden Courier-Post'' at a meeting of the Camden Foremen's Club. In 1941 he was assigned to the French island of
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
, where he investigated reports about "a mountain of French gold" worth almost a billion dollars. Upon his return to the United States, Rhodes was a speaker on February 28, 1941, at the
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
, Chamber of Commerce, along with Governor Arthur James, where Rhodes said he disliked being called a ''journalist'' but would rather be referred to as a ''newspaperman.'' Rhodes was next sent to England, where he covered the blitz. Rhodes worked for
United China Relief Bettis Alston Garside 葛思德 (November 22, 1894 – August 1, 1989), better known as B.A. Garside, was an educator, author, and executive administrator for several U.S. charities related to China. Early life B.A. Garside was born in Stringtown, ...
and the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
in 1941, the Selective Service records showed. In 1941, he was also chief of the Atlantic News Service of the
Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
, the U.S. State Department reported. Postwar he was with the OWI recruiting personnel "for operations in psychological warfare," where he trained workers "for newly liberated areas." He was described as "head of monitoring for Psychological Warfare Branch AFHQ ir Force Headquartersand later in a similar capacity with the ETO (
European Theater of Operations, United States Army The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Forc ...
) during the war.""Friends Respond With Lumber From Queer Places," ''The Berkshire Evening Eagle,'' June 1, 1946, page 5
/ref> An article by Rhodes about French poet
Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...
was published in ''Aragon: Poet of the French Resistance,'' edited by
Hannah Josephson Hannah Josephson, née Geffen (June 6, 1900 – October 29, 1976), was an American historian of the United States as well as a journalist and librarian. Life and work Hannah Josephson was born in New York City, on June 6, 1900. She studied at H ...
and
Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), and his memoir, ''Exile's Return'' ( ...
in 1945. In 1946 Rinehart & Co. published his translation from the French of ''The Beast of the Haitian Hills'' by Philippe Thoby-Marcelin and Pierre Marcelin. His book ''Beautify Your Home Grounds,'' about property improvement, was published in 1952.


Political position

On February 6, 1942, U.S. Representative Richard B. Wigglesworth, Republican of Massachusetts, included Rhodes in a list of names he read on the floor of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
which he said had been furnished to him by the " artinDies Committee" (the
House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...
) stating that Rhodes, listed as a "foreign editor," had been a delegate of the International Coordinating Committee for Aid to Republican Spain. In June 1949, FBI informant
Elizabeth Bentley Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (January 1, 1908 – December 3, 1963) was an American NKVD spymaster, who was recruited from within the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). She served the Soviet Union as the primary handler of multiple highly placed moles ...
included Rhodes, who was identified as a "broadcaster for the army in Africa and Sicily," in a list of names she furnished to the
House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...
. She stated they were those of federal employees who had been "involved in giving information to the Soviet government." John Lautner, a former Communist Party, official, told a subcommittee of the Senate Internal Security Committee in October 1952 that Rhodes, a "former Communist," had been "in charge of intelligence for the Military Government in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
."
Winston Burdett Winston Burdett (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 1993) was an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for the CBS Radio Network during World War II and later for CBS television news. During the war he became a member of Edward R. Murr ...
, a broadcast journalist, testified at a hearing of the
Senate Internal Security Subcommittee The United States Senate's Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951–77, known more commonly as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and sometimes the M ...
on June 28, 1955, that he "surmised" that Rhodes was a "very active Communist sympathizer and partisan of Communist causes." He said, "I did not know Peter Rhodes to be a member of the Communist Party." Burdett said he formed his impression from "my acquaintance with him and particularly his activities."United Press, "Reporter," ''Alexandria (Louisiana) Town Talk,'' June 30, 1955, page 8
/ref>


References


External links


Phi Kappa Psi, Class of 1933, Columbia College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Peter 1909 births 1966 deaths American male journalists People of the United States Office of War Information Columbia College (New York) alumni