Rita van doren biography sample

American journalist

Irita Bradford Van Doren (March 16, 1891 – December 18, 1966) was an American literary figure and editor of the New York Herald Tribune book review for 37 years.

Biography

Born Irita Bradford in Birmingham, Alabama, she moved with her family to Tallahassee, Florida, when she was four. Her father owned and operated a sawmill there. He was killed by a disgruntled former employee when Irita was nine, leaving her mother to support four children.

Rita van doren biography sample

She gave music lessons, mostly to children, and sold homemade preserves.

Bradford graduated from the Florida State College for Women in 1908. She studied at Columbia University for her doctorate in English while teaching part-time at Hunter College.

While at Columbia, she met fellow grad student Carl Van Doren, who was studying politics and government. He was a member of the literary Van Doren family, and later won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Benjamin Franklin.

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