Seymour Berkson (January 30, 1905 – January 5, 1959) was an American publisher.

Biography

Berkson was born to a Jewish family 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the son of immigrants who fled persecution in Russia. His father worked as a tailor. Berkson graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

with a B.A. in political science. He started his career as reporter for the ''

Chicago Herald-Examiner The ''Chicago American'' was an American newspaper published in Chicago under various names from 1900 until its dissolution in 1975. Its afternoon publication was known as the ''Chicago American'', while its evening publication was known as the ...

'' and worked his way through the ranks eventually becoming general manager of the ''

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

'' where he worked at their news bureaus in Rome and Paris. He returned to the United States and accepted a position as the publisher for the ''

New York Journal-American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 ...

'' in New York City. Berkson served as chairman of the newspaper committee for Brotherhood Week, the national observance sponsored by the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

Personal life

Berkson married twice; he had a daughter, Barbara Berkson Coady (d. 1996), with his first wife, journalist Jane Eads (1901–1992), whom he met at the ''Chicago Herald-Examiner''. In 1936, he married fashion publicist

Eleanor Lambert Eleanor Lambert (August 10, 1903 – October 7, 2003) was an American fashion publicist. She was instrumental in increasing the international prominence of the American fashion industry and in the emergence of New York City as a major fashion c ...

(1903–2003); they had one son, poet Bill Berkson (1939–2016). He died on January 5, 1959, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkson, Seymour American publishers (people) 1905 births 1959 deaths Writers from Chicago University of Chicago alumni Jewish American journalists 20th-century American Jews