Richard Harding Davis

American journalist and author of both fiction and drama, Richard Harding Davis. He covered the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War as the first American war reporter. Theodore Roosevelt's political career benefited immensely from his literature. At the start of the 20th century, he is credited for popularizing the clean-shaven image among males. On April 18, 1864, Davis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lemuel Clarke Davis, his father, served as editor of...See more

American journalist and author of both fiction and drama, Richard Harding Davis. He covered the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War as the first American war reporter. Theodore Roosevelt's political career benefited immensely from his literature. At the start of the 20th century, he is credited for popularizing the clean-shaven image among males. On April 18, 1864, Davis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lemuel Clarke Davis, his father, served as editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Davis went to Swarthmore College and the Episcopal Academy as a young man. Davis saw Matanzas, Cuba, being shelled as part of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War. His tale garnered media attention, but as a result, the Navy forbade journalists from boarding any American military vessel for the remainder of the conflict. After being detained by the Germans as a spy and eventually released, Davis covered the Salonika front during the First World War. Davis married twice, first to the artist Cecil Clark in 1899 and then to the actress and vaudeville performer Bessy McCoy after their divorce in 1912. On April 11, 1916, Davis suffered a heart attack while talking on the phone. Bessie McCoy, his wife, would pass away at the age of 42 in 1931 from intestinal issues. See less