'A new thing in an old way'

 

"The secret of good writing is to sayan old thing in a new way or to say a new thing in an old way." – RichardHarding Davis

 

Born in Philadelphia on this date in 1864,Davis played an outsized role in American life through both his reportingskills and his works of fiction and drama.  He was the first Americanwar correspondent to cover 3 wars – Spanish-American, Boer and WWI – hisreporting often credited for the wild popularity of Theodore Roosevelt’sRoughriders.

 

The son of two prominent writers –Rebecca Harding Davis, a successful creative writer and playwright, and LemuelDavis, a leading journalist – he served as managing editor of Harper’sWeekly, setting editorial standards that nearly all other magazines stroveto emulate. 

 

He had manysuccessful novels including the bestselling Soldiers of Fortune – also adaptedinto two different movies.  And he authored 25 plays, hundreds ofnewspaper features, and several nonfiction books, led by his massive bestsellerNotes of a War Correspondent.   

                                         

Constantly on the move andmaintaining an arduous work schedule, Davis died of a heart attack just days shyof his 52nd birthday (in 2016) while working on deadline for yetanother story.

 

“That the situation appears hopeless,”he once said, “still should not prevent us from doing our best.”