Widely regarded as the first presidential speechwriter
Judson Churchill Welliver (August 13, 1870 – April 14, 1943)[note 1] was a "literary clerk" to President Warren G. Harding and is usually credited as being the first presidential speechwriter.[1][note 2]
He was sent to Europe by President Roosevelt in 1907 to report on the waterway and railroad systems of Europe and Great Britain.[4] (The report was published in 1908.) He managed London correspondence and European news for the New York Sun from 1917 until 1918.[4]
Welliver handled publicity for Harding during his 1920 presidential campaign, and began working as a "literary clerk" to President Harding on March 4, 1921.[1][4] Welliver left his speech-writing position at the White House on November 1, 1925 (under the presidency of Calvin Coolidge), accepting a position at the American Petroleum Institute for a better salary.[4][6] After he resigned from the American Petroleum job in 1927, Welliver went on to become editor of the Washington Herald in 1928.[4] He was also assistant to the president of the Pullman Company from 1928 to 1931.[4]
The Judson Welliver Society, a bipartisan social club composed of former presidential speechwriters, is named in his honor.[2]
Notes and references
Notes
^Welliver's middle initial is sometimes erroneously given as "T".
^It is argued by some that Alexander Hamilton was the first presidential speechwriter since he wrote some material for George Washington, but Hamilton was a cabinet member rather than a person hired expressly for the job of writing speeches.[2]