Ben Bradlee | |
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![]() Bradlee in 1999 | |
Born | Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee August 26, 1921 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | October 21, 2014 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 93)
Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Education | Harvard University (BA) |
Occupation | Newspaper editor |
Employer | The Washington Post |
Known for | publication of the Pentagon Papers and reporting the Watergate scandal |
Spouse(s) | Jean Saltonstall (m. 1942; div. 1956) Antoinette Pinchot (m. 1957; div. 1977) |
Children | 4, including Ben Jr. and Quinn |
Parent(s) | Frederick Josiah Bradlee, Jr. Josephine de Gersdorff |
Relatives | Crowninshield family |
Awards | |
Military career | |
Unit | Second Fleet |
Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (August 26, 1921 – October 21, 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor and later as executive editor of The Washington Post, from 1965 to 1991.[1] He became a public figure when the Post joined The New York Times in publishing the Pentagon Papers and gave the go-ahead for the paper's extensive coverage of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s. He was also criticized for editorial lapses when the Post had to return a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 after it discovered that its award-winning story was false.
After his retirement, Bradlee continued to be associated with the Post, holding the position of Vice President at-large until his death. In retirement, Bradlee was an advocate for education and the study of history, including his role as a trustee on the boards of several major educational, historical, and archaeological research institutions.[1]