Walter Howard Bowart (May 14, 1939 – December 18, 2007)Fox, Marglit (Jan. 14, 2008)

(

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

). ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. was an American leader in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, founder and editor of the first underground newspaper 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 ...

, the ''

East Village Other ''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground press, underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so counterc ...

'', and author of the book ''Operation Mind Control''.

Life and career

Born as Walter Howard Kirby in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Bowart was

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

as a newborn by Walter and Fenna Bowart. He was raised in Enid,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, and won a McMahon Scholarship in journalism to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. In the early 1960s Bowart moved to

to pursue his interest in painting, there he met his first wife Linda Dugmore, daughter of

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

Edward Dugmore, with whom he had his first son Wolfe. In 1965, Bowart, along with

Ishmael Reed Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, composer, playwright, editor and publisher known for his Satire, satirical works challenging American political culture. Perhaps his best-known wor ...

, who named the paper, Sherry Needham, Allen Katzman, and

Dan Rattiner Dan Rattiner (born August 15, 1939) is an American journalist and newspaper publisher. Biography Early life and education Rattiner was born in New York City and raised in Millburn, New Jersey, where he attended Millburn High School. He graduated ...

founded the ''

'' (EVO). EVO offered a newsprint medium for the rants, artwork, poetry and comics of such 1960s icons as

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan (, ; July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media studies, media theory. Raised in Winnipeg, McLuhan studied at the University of Manitoba a ...

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. Influences His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the ...

, and

The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy ...

. In 1966, Bowart testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency about banning

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

. He drew national attention with his recommendations. Through his connection with ex-Harvard professor

, Walter met his second wife, Peggy Hitchcock. They moved to

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in 1968 where Bowart founded Omen Press, a publishing house for metaphysical books. Among other books, Omen Press published ''This Is The New Age In Person'' by "Sufi Sam", for which Bowart wrote the foreword. Bowart and Peggy Hitchcock had two daughters, Sophia and Nuria. In 1973, Bowart located and reconnected with his biological parents, Thomas J. Kirby and Patricia J. Dooley, and discovered he had three younger sisters, Janet, Nancy and Kathy. His adoption had a profound impact on Bowart and he later published various articles under the names of his biological parents. During this period, Bowart wrote the book that became his seminal work, ''Operation Mind Control''. Published by

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

in 1978 with a foreword by ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a communist conspiracy. T ...

'' author

Richard Condon Richard Thomas Condon (March 18, 1915 – April 9, 1996) was an American political novelist. Though his works were satire, they were generally transformed into thrillers or semi-thrillers in other media, such as cinema. All 26 books were writte ...

, ''Operation Mind Control'' was a 317-page investigative report into government

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

through the use of drugs such as

, behavior modification,

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...

, and other "psycho-weapons". Following a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an promotional tour, Bowart moved to

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, where he continued his research, became a contributor to the ''

Aspen Daily News The ''Aspen Daily News'' is a 7-day-a-week newspaper in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado that started in 1978. History In 1978, Dave Danforth, then working as a stringer for ''The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and ...

'', and met Margo Jordan, his third wife. In the early 1980s, Bowart created and published the ''Port Townsend Daily News'' in

Port Townsend Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, where he met and married Rebecca Fullerton and had his fourth child, Wythe. In the late 1980s, Walter moved to

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to become the editor of ''Palm Springs Life Magazine'' where he published articles under the name Thomas Kirby, Tom Kirby, and Tom J. Kirby as well as W.H. Bowart.Kirby, Thomas (Mar. 1985)
"The Statue Of Liberty: Selling Lady Liberty's Hand-me-downs."
''Palm Springs Life'', vol. 27, no. 7, p. 219. In Bowart's later years, he researched and wrote prolifically. He created The Freedom of Thought Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of the public about

. He was a frequently invited guest speaker at forums and conferences around the country. Bowart died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

at his sister's home in Inchelium,

on December 18, 2007. At the time of his death, Bowart was working on several screenplays and novels, including ''The Other Crusades'', which was about

in the early 1960s.

References

External links

Full text: ''Operation Mind Control: Researcher's Edition''
at

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Full audiobook: ''Operation Mind Control'', narrated by James Martinez

synoptic chapter outline of Bowart's unfinished manuscript, from 1990, co-written with Richard Sutton
Interview of Bowart by Ned Potter

Interview of Bowart by Dave Emory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowart, Walter 1939 births 2007 deaths Writers from Omaha, Nebraska University of Oklahoma alumni American newspaper editors American magazine editors American book publishers (people) American social sciences writers American adoptees American psychedelic drug advocates Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States Mind control theorists Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Writers from Enid, Oklahoma

Life and career

Further reading

References

External links