Elmer Holmes Davis (1890-1958) was a respected newspaper journalist, novelist, essayist, and radio announcer. His insightful and candid commentary on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Radio provided the people of the United States with a trusted voice of reason and authority during the tumultuous years of World War II. Later, during the 1950s, Davis helped rally popular opinion against the Communist conspiracy theories of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Davis was born on January 13, 1890, in Aurora, Illinois. His father, Elam Holmes Davis, was a cashier at the First National Bank of Aurora and his mother, Louise (Severin) Davis, was the principal of a local high school. Davis began his lifelong career in the news industry after his freshman year in high school, landing a summer job with the Aurora Bulletin as a printer's devil. In 1906, at the age of 16, Davis entered Franklin College, where he served as editor of the school...