Elmer Davis, newsman and radio personality, lived between January 13, 1890 and May 18, 1958. He was famous during this lifetime, He was the voice of radio updates about World War II. This came after his career as a Rhodes scholar, New York Times reporter, and around his tenure as head of Roosevelt's Office of War Information. The accounts I read suggest he was a leading spokesman for the people's right to know, and unpopular causes, like not interring the Nisei during the war.
It is not surprising perhaps that his career as a cat lover is not famous. One source for this is the letters of Raymond Chandler (Raymond Chandler Speaking ((1962)). There we learn that he and Chandler consoled each other as they both lost adored Persian cats around 1951. It may be pause for thought that such a leader for freedom of information is not better remembered.
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