William Shawn

Birthday August 31, 1907

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Chicago, IL

DEATH DATE Dec 8, 1992 (85)

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About

American magazine editor who edited The New Yorker from 1952 until 1987. He died in December of 1992.  

Before Fame

He dropped out of the University of Michigan after two years from 1925 to 1927, and began working. He worked as a reporter for The Optic, a newspaper in Las Vegas, New Mexico. In 1932, he and his wife Cecille moved to New York City, where he tried to start a career as a composer.

Trivia

After taking a job at The New Yorker in 1933, where his wife had found work as a fact checker, he stayed with the magazine for 53 years.

Family Life

He was born William Chon in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of Benjamin T. Chon, a cutlery salesman, and Anna Bransky Chon. He was the youngest of five. He and his wife Cecille had three children, one of whom is writer and actor Wallace Shawn.

Associated With

He assumed the role of editor at The New Yorker after the previous editor Harold Ross passed away. He edited numerous authors at the magazine, including J.D. SalingerJohn Hersey, Lillian Ross, and Hannah Arendt.