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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 25 Collections and/or Records:

Helen Foster Snow files on Red Dust, approximately 1952

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 6
Scope and Contents note

"Red Dust" was a book by Helen Foster Snow (Nym Wales) published in 1952 that told the story of Chinese communist leaders. Contains book reviews, correspondence, edited drafts, annotated and plain partial drafts, carbon copy drafts, miscellaneous pages, extracted chapters, and interviews by Edgar Snow.

Dates: Other: approximately 1952

Helen Foster Snow files on The Chinese labor movement, approximately 1945

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 4
Scope and Contents note

The Chinese Labor Movement was a book written by Helen Foster Snow under the pseudonym of Nym Wales in 1945. Contains letters, reviews, annotated drafts, carbon copies, extracts, and miscellaneous papers.

Dates: Other: approximately 1945

Helen Foster Snow files on The Root and the Branch, undated

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 14
Scope and Contents From the Series:

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: undated

Helen Foster Snow files on Women in Modern China, approximately 1967

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 7
Scope and Contents note

"Women in Modern China" was a book written by Helen Foster Snow (Nym Wales) that was published in 1967. Contains draft cuts, draft sections, loose chapters, and partial and complete drafts.

Dates: Other: approximately 1967

Helen Foster Snow industrial cooperatives writings, 1975-1993, 1938-1959

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 2 Sub-Series 3
Scope and Contents Contains materials concerning the Chinese Cooperative Movement, cooperatives in India, cooperatives in the Western Hemisphere, and miscellaneous cooperative materials, including Helen Foster Snow's philosophy behind cooperatives. Many folders containing cooperative materials retained their original order and were preserved in whole in the collection. These folders will be noted with an * in the folder description. Unless otherwise noted, the materials are by Helen Foster Snow....
Dates: 1975-1993; 1938-1959

Helen Foster Snow manuscripts published outside the United States, 1923-1980

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 3 Sub-Series 11
Scope and Contents note Contains drafts and other materials (bound and annotated copies, drafts in sections, etc.) for My Yenan Notebooks, An American Experience in China, Return to China, Mao Country, Notes on the Chinese Student Movement, Notes on the China Experience, Old Impressions and Memoirs of Yenan, Profiles from China, The Chinese-American Special Relationship, The Gung Ho Papers, Totemism, the T'ao-T'ieh and the Chinese Ritual Bronzes, Unbound Feet, Women in Traditional China, and others. Dated...
Dates: Other: 1923-1980

Helen Foster Snow papers on China, 1927-1997

 Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 2
Scope and Contents

Contains works written during Helen's nine years in Asia spent as a foreign correspondent, mostly covering events and people related to the Chinese Revolution. Materials include articles, essays and personal correspondence. Materials date from September 1931 through December 1940.

Dates: 1927-1997

Helen Foster Snow photographs from Asia, approximately 1902-1949, approximately 1970-1987, bulk: 1931-1940

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 2219 Series 5 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents Photographs taken by or collected by Helen Foster Snow during her time as a photojournalist in China during the rise of the Chinese Communist Party. Also includes photographs of Helen Foster Snow and husband Edgar Snow on their trips to Bali, the Philippines, and various locations in China. Photographs dated 1970 and later are mainly from Helen’s trips back to China, one of which was with Tim Considine in 1978, and many of which are slides. Materials span 1902 to 1949, and 1970 to 1987, with...
Dates: approximately 1902-1949; approximately 1970-1987; Majority of material found within 1931-1940

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

Filtered By

  • Subject: Philippines X

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 24
Collection 1
 
Subject
India 24
Philippines 24
Beijing (China) 23
China -- Politics and government -- 1912-1949 23
China -- Politics and government -- 1928-1937 23