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Stephen Early

Stephen Tyree Early (August 27, 1889 – August 11, 1951) was a U.S. journalist and government official. He served as the third White House press secretary under Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945 and as the acting press secretary under President Harry S. Truman in 1950 after the sudden death of Charles Griffith Ross. Early served as press secretary longer than any other person.

Steve Early

Position established

Stephen Tyree Early

(1889-08-27)August 27, 1889
Crozet, Virginia, U.S.

August 11, 1951(1951-08-11) (aged 61)
Washington, D.C., U.S.

Personal life[edit]

Early died at George Washington Hospital on August 11, 1951. He had suffered a heart attack a week prior, and despite signs of recovery, had a turn for the worse. It was reported that he died at about one in the afternoon. Survivors included Helen Wrenn Early, whom he married in 1921, two sons and a daughter. Harry Truman issued a statement calling him "an outstanding newspaper man" and "always on the side of President Roosevelt." Defense Secretary George Marshall said in a statement that he was "very distressed" at the news of Early's death and that he "served his country faithfully for many years." The full statements and other information on his life can be found in his New York Times obituary, printed on August 12, 1951.[5]


In 1969, his widow donated his papers to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, where they could be accessed by the public.

Levin, Linda Lotridge (2007). The Making of FDR: The Story of Stephen Early, America's First Modern Press Secretary. Amherst: Prometheus Books.  978-1-59102-577-1.

ISBN

White, Graham J. (1979). . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-89512-2.

FDR and the Press

Stephen T. Early Papers

Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Biography