Ralph Barnes (journalist)

Ralph Waldo Barnes (June 14, 1899 – November 17, 1940) was an American journalist from Oregon, best known as a foreign correspondent in Europe during the 1930s.[1]

For other people with the same name, see Ralph Barnes.
Ralph Barnes
Born
Ralph Waldo Barnes

(1899-06-14)June 14, 1899
Salem, Oregon, U.S.
DiedNovember 17, 1940(1940-11-17) (aged 41)
Yugoslavia
Burial placeFlorence American Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
EducationSalem High School
Alma materWillamette University
Harvard University
Occupation(s)Journalist, foreign correspondent
EmployerNew York Herald Tribune
Spouse
Esther Barton Parounagian
​
​
(m. 1924)​

Early life and education

Barnes was born in Salem, Oregon, on June 14, 1899 to Edward Talbot Barnes and Mabel Nancy Baker Barnes.[2] He graduated from Salem High School in 1917, and that summer he began attending St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin.[2] In the fall of 1918 he enrolled at Willamette University in Salem, but he had to interrupt his studies when his military reserve unit was called to Camp MacArthur in Waco, Texas for training.[2] Barnes returned to Salem and received his bachelor's degree in history from Willamette in 1922.[2] After earning his master's degree in economics from Harvard University, he returned to Salem and married his longtime sweetheart, Esther Barton Parounagian.[3] Esther was born in Pittsfield, Vermont on December 12, 1901 and married Mr. Barnes on October 11, 1924.[4] She too was a Willamette graduate, though of 1923.[2]

Career

In 1924, Barnes was hired by the New York Herald Tribune.[2] His first foreign correspondent assignment was in Paris.[2] While assigned to Paris, in 1926, he interviewed Gertrude Ederle upon the completion of her historic swim across the English Channel, and in 1927, he interviewed Charles Lindbergh after he completed the first solo transatlantic flight. In 1930, the Herald sent Barnes to Rome, where he reported on the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.[1] In 1931, he became the paper's Moscow correspondent.[1] He became known for reporting stories the Soviet regime did not want publicized, unlike Walter Duranty of The New York Times, who was sympathetic to the Soviet government.[1] In 1935, Barnes transferred to Berlin, where he reported on the Nazi regime despite its censorship.[1] After the German invasion of Poland, and the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, Barnes concluded that Germany would next attack the Soviet Union, despite the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[1] The Nazi government expelled Barnes from Germany after the Tribune published the story.[1]

Death and legacy

On November 17, 1940, on his way to cover Mussolini's invasion of Greece, Barnes was killed along with three Royal Air Force crew members when his plane crashed in Yugoslavia.[1] Upon his death, reporters Leland Stowe of the Herald Tribune, William L. Shirer of Columbia Broadcasting, and William H. Stoneman of the Chicago Daily News saluted Barnes and his achievements.[1] Barnes was the first war correspondent killed during World War II.[2] In 1943, a Liberty ship was christened the SS Ralph Barnes in his honor.[2] Barnes was buried in the Florence American Cemetery in Italy.

References
  1. Mahoney, Barbara. "Ralph Barnes (1899-1940)". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 13, 2012
  2. "Guide to the Ralph W. Barnes papers 1918-1943". Mark O. Hatfield Library. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  3. United States Government, American Consulate, Rome; Ancestry.com, (database online) (June 4, 1930). "U.S., Consular Reports of Births, 1910-1949" (Database with images). Retrieved December 9, 2019. Mother: Full name: Esther Barton Parounagian Barnes{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Decimal Files, compiled 1910 - 1949; Record Group: 59, General Records of the Department of State, 1763 - 2002; Series ARC ID: 2555709; Series MLR Number: A1 3001; Series Box Number: 354; File Number: 131
  4. United States Government, American Consulate, Paris; Ancestry.com, (database online) (April 25, 1932). "U.S., Consular Reports of Births, 1910-1949" (Database with images). Retrieved December 9, 2019. Father: Full name: Ralph Waldo Barnes; Occupation: Journalist; Present Residence: Hotel Metropole, Moscow, Russia; Birthplace: Salem, Oregon, June 14, 1898 (sic); Mother: Full name: Esther Parounagian Barnes; Present Residence: 5bis, Rue Joseph Bara, Paris, France; Birthplace: Pittsfield, Vermont, December 18, 1901; Place and date of marriage: Salem, Oregon, October 11, 1924.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Decimal Files, compiled 1910 - 1949; Record Group: 59, General Records of the Department of State, 1763 - 2002; Series ARC ID: 2555709; Series MLR Number: A1 3001; Series Box Number: 354; File Number: 131

Further reading
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