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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 2 Collections and/or Records:

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

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

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