Skip to main content

Snow, Edgar, 1905-1972

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1905 - 1972

Biography

Edgar Snow (1905-1972) was a journalist and foreign correspondent in China.

Edgar Snow was born on July 10, 1905 in Kansas City, Missouri. Snow moved to China as a correspondent for the Consolidated Press Association. Edgar met Helen Foster Snow when she came to China. The two were married on December 25, 1933 in Tokyo, Japan. They moved to Peking, where Edgar taught at Yanjing University. At the University, Edgar and Helen sympathized with the students protesting the government’s allowance of Japanese invasion. The two helped organize movements like the December 9th movement of 1935, and provided press coverage of events censored by Chinese papers.

In June of 1936 Edgar left Peking for Xian, and into the communist camp as the first foreign journalist in that territory. He composed the first biographical account of Mao during this time. Mao asked Ed to set peace terms between the Nationalists and the Chinese Government. An interview with Mao published in Life magazine in 1936 gained a great amount of attention. Edgar Snow became the editor to his new magazine Democracy. Red Star Over China, Edgar’s book on his time with the communists was published in 1938. Edgar Snow died on February 15, 1972 in Eysins Switzerland.

Citation:
Helen Foster Snow: An American Woman in Revolutionary China, 2006: p. 32 (b. July 19, 1905; Kansas City, Missouri; Shanghai correspondent for Consolidated Press Association); p. 39 (m. Helen Foster Snow 1933); p. 42 (m. Dec. 25, Tokyo); p. 41 (honeymoon in Formosa, the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch Indies, and Bali); p. 45 (move to Peking); p. 49 (move to Manchuria to investigate, 1933); p. 50 (job teaching at Yanjing University); p. 55 (helped plan December 1935 movements); p. 58 (moved to more neutral area; p. 62 (press coverage of events censored by Chinese papers); p. 64 (December 16th movement); p. 67 (June 1936 Xian then Baoan to communist camp); p. 70 (worked with artists); p. 71 (short stories published to West); p. 73 (published Living china); p. 79 (October 1936, interview with Mao Zedong; published in Life, journal Democracy, editor); p. 87 (controversial exposure of communist ideas); p. 109 (Red Star Over China, 1938); p. 110 (long march reports; first foreign journalist in communist territory); p. 111 (left Peking June 1936, Xian; 92 day tour, Zhou Enlai); p. 113 (first biographical account of Mao; set terms for peace between CCP and GMD); p. 114 (return to Peking Oct. 1936, write book); p. 117 (Shanghai)

FamilySearch, July 12, 2018 (d. February 15, 1972; Eysins, Switzerland)

Found in 52 Collections and/or Records:

Helen Foster Snow photographs of family, friends, and vacations, approximately 1853-2000

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 5 Sub-Series 1
Scope and Contents Contains photographs, including slides, pertaining to the life of Helen Foster Snow. Photographs include Helen's ancestors, family members, Utah childhood, friends, animals, and vacations. Photos of Helen's adulthood are mainly located at her home in Connecticut or in the eastern United States. Photographs are mainly unrelated to Helen's time working in China, though some depict friends visiting from China. Vacations include a European tour, places throughout the United States, Egypt, and...
Dates: approximately 1853-2000

Helen Foster Snow poetry, 1925-1995

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 16
Scope and Contents note

All folders contain poetry written by Helen Foster Snow. "The nomenclature of Helen Foster Snow and Nym Wales are used intermittently in ascribing the author." Drafts with and without annotations, bound volumes, award-winning items, poetry for music, limericks, and other humorous material. Materials date from 1925 to 1995.

Dates: Other: 1925-1995

Helen Foster Snow published and unpublished manuscripts, approximately 1919-1995

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3
Scope and Contents

Contains manuscripts and associated materials produced by Helen Foster Snow, both inside the United States and in China. Includes non-fiction and fiction writings on China and other topics. Materials date from between 1919 and 1995.

Dates: approximately 1919-1995

Helen Foster Snow topically-arranged correspondence, 1940s-1990s

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 4 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains letters and other correspondence spanning from the 1940's to the 1990's, both career-related and personal. During this period of time, Helen lived in the United States, but travelled abroad several times.

Dates: 1940s-1990s

Helen Foster Snow unpublished manuscripts, 1982-1991

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 15
Scope and Contents note

Contains folios, various drafts and copies, and other materials for Book Ends: A Reader's Notes; Ethics and Energism, the Bridge to the Future; Lines of Communication; Long Thoughts; Longer Thoughts; More Long Thoughts; People I Have Known; Primitives and Pastorals; Why is a Classic?, and other works; also sections of unidentified works, and information about the author. Materials date from 1982 to 1991.

Dates: Other: 1982-1991

Helen Foster Snow unpublished manuscripts about women, undated

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 12
Scope and Contents note

Contains original and carbon copies, annotated copies, photocopies, etc., of "A Charter for American Women"; "A Primer for Women: a Compendium of Writings About Women" and "A Primer for Women: Back to Basics Again"; "A Thesis for Women to Bridge the Conflict Between Identical "Equal" Rights and Different But Equivalent Rights for Women"; "The Status of Women"; "The Congress of Furious Women"; "Women and Autobiography"; and "The Early Years: 'Teens and 'Twenties." Undated.

Dates: Other: undated

Helen Foster Snow vacation photographs, approximately 1930-1988

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 5 Sub-Series 1 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents Contains photographs depicting Helen Foster Snow on various vacations, including a European tour (England, Paris, and Greece), India, and Egypt, and places throughout the United States, such as Nantucket, the Grand Canyon, Idaho, and the Tetons. Also includes a few photographs of Helen at home in Connecticut, and a scrapbook kept by Helen documenting her trip on the American Mail Line from Seattle to Shanghai in 1931. Many photographs have accompanying captions written on the front or back,...
Dates: approximately 1930-1988

Helen Foster Snow works of fiction, undated

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 13
Scope and Contents note

Photocopies, carbon copies, bound copies, original, manuscript copies, title pages, dedications, contents, chapter headings, outlines, synopses, notes, etc., for Memoirs: First Persona; Country and Western Primitives; Hearts and Flowers; Peking Duck; Unlacquered Tales from China; and The Root and the Branch.

Dates: Other: undated

Helen Foster Snow writings and correspondence from Beijing, 1931-1949

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 2 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains research materials, correspondence (with family and friends, readers, and between other individuals), drafts of Beijing-related articles, translations, and writings on the Chinese Revolution, fascism, and student organizations. Written by Helen Foster Snow while working in Beijing. Dated 1931 to 1949.

Dates: 1931-1949

Photograph of a black bear, approximately 1958

 Series — Box 140: Series 5 [Barcode: 31197239254367], Folder: 20
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 5 Sub-Series 1 Sub-Series 2 Series 2994b
Scope and Contents From the Sub-Series: Contains photographs depicting Helen Foster Snow on various vacations, including a European tour (England, Paris, and Greece), India, and Egypt, and places throughout the United States, such as Nantucket, the Grand Canyon, Idaho, and the Tetons. Also includes a few photographs of Helen at home in Connecticut, and a scrapbook kept by Helen documenting her trip on the American Mail Line from Seattle to Shanghai in 1931. Many photographs have accompanying captions written on the front or back,...
Dates: approximately 1958

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 50
Collection 2
 
Subject
China -- Politics and government -- 1928-1937 39
Photojournalism -- China 39
Photojournalists -- China 39
China -- Politics and government -- 1912-1949 35
Politics, Government, and Law 27
∨ more
India 24
Philippines 24
Yan'an Shi (China) 24
Beijing (China) 23
Shanghai (China) 23
Utah 23
Xi'an Shi (China) 23
Drafts (Documents) 17
Letters 16
Genealogy 14
Communes (China) 13
International Relations 13
Books 12
Journalism 12
Articles 10
Photographs 10
Essays 9
Literature 8
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences 7
Manuscripts 7
Book reviews 6
Connecticut -- Photographs 6
Correspondence 6
Communism -- China -- History 5
Notes 5
Domestic animals -- Photographs 4
United States -- Photographs 4
Asia -- Photographs 3
China 3
China -- Photographs 3
Documents 3
New England -- Genealogy 3
Photojournalism 3
Poetry 3
Research 3
Social Life and Customs 3
Autobiographies 2
Civic Activism 2
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) 2
France -- Photographs 2
Greece -- Photographs 2
India -- Photographs 2
Interviews 2
Maps 2
Negatives 2
Pamphlets 2
Papers (Documents) 2
Personal papers 2
Publications 2
Research (Documents) 2
Vacations 2
Acetate negatives 1
Agriculture -- China 1
Artifacts 1
Audiocassettes 1
Authors, American -- Biography 1
Bali (Indonesia : Province) -- Photographs 1
Book covers 1
Books -- Reviews 1
Caricatures and cartoons 1
China -- History -- 20th century 1
Chinese language 1
Clothing 1
Communism 1
Conference papers and proceedings 1
Contracts 1
Documentary films 1
East (U.S.) -- Photographs 1
Economics and Banking 1
England -- Photographs 1
Families -- Research -- United States 1
Fiction 1
Financial records 1
Folklore 1
Glass negatives 1
Home and Family 1
Japan 1
Korea 1
Labor History 1
Lecture notes 1
Lists 1
Minutes (Records) 1
Music -- Manuscripts 1
Newspapers -- Sections, columns, etc. 1
Notebooks 1
Paintings 1
Periodicals 1
Philippines -- Photographs 1
Photocopies 1
Poetry -- Manuscripts 1
Proposals 1
Seneca Falls (N.Y.) 1
Slides (Photography) 1
Speeches, addresses, etc. 1
Telegrams 1
+ ∧ less