DeWitt Wallace (
November 12,
1889 –
March 30,
1981, also known as
William Roy) was a
United States magazine publisher. He co-founded
Reader's Digest with his wife
Lila Wallace and published the first issue in
1922.
Born in
St. Paul, Minnesota, where his father was on the faculty (and later president) of
Macalester College, he attended Mount Hermon School as a youth (now
Northfield Mount Hermon). Wallace went to college at Macalester from
1907 to
1909 but transferred to the
University of California, Berkeley for two years. He returned to St. Paul in
1912 and was hired by a publishing firm specializing in
farming literature.
During
World War I, Wallace enlisted in the
U.S. Army and was wounded in the
Battle of Verdun. He spent four months in a
French hospital, recovering from his injuries and passing the time by reading American magazines.
Returning to the U.S., Wallace spent every day of the next six months at the
Minneapolis Public Library researching and condensing magazine articles. He wanted to create a magazine with articles on a wide variety of subjects, abridged so that each could be easily read. Wallace showed his sample magazine to Lila Bell Acheson, sister of an old college friend, who responded enthusiastically. He proposed to her and on
October 15,
1921, they were married. The Wallaces decided to publish the magazine themselves and market it by direct mail. The first issue appeared on
February 5,
1922, and
Reader's Digest soon became one of the most widely circulated periodicals in the world.
Wallace was also a noted philanthropist, donating much of his massive fortune to his
alma mater Macalester College. An American art museum in
Williamsburg, VA is also named for the Wallaces.
November 12 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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- 240 BC - 1st recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
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Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI
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Motto
"In God We Trust" (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Topics in journalism
Professional issues
Ethics & objectivity
Sources & attribution
News & news values
Reporting & writing
Fourth estate • Libel law
Education & books
Other topics
Fields
Advocacy journalism
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Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases, authors may be their own publishers.
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''' Reader's Digest is a monthly general interest family magazine. Although its circulation has declined in recent years, the Audit Bureau of Circulation says Reader's Digest
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Lila Bell Wallace (b. 25 December 1889, Virden, Manitoba, Canada - d. 8 May 1984, Mount Kisco, New York) was a United States magazine publisher.
Born as Lila Bell Acheson
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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1919 1920 1921 - 1922 - 1923 1924 1925
Year 1922 (MCMXXII
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Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul on the Mississippi with the Capitol building to the right, the Minneapolis skyline in the distance, and a 19th century home in the foreground, taken from Indian Mounds Park
Flag
Seal
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Macalester College is a privately supported, coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a 53 acre (21.
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Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH) is a ninth-twelfth grade private, college preparatory school located in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, United States.
History
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1870s 1880s 1890s - 1900s - 1910s 1920s 1930s
1904 1905 1906 - 1907 - 1908 1909 1910
Year 1907 (MCMVII
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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Year 1909 (MCMIX
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University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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Year 1912 (MCMXII
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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Clockwise from top: Trenches on the Western Front; a British Mark IV tank crossing a trench; Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the Battle of the Dardanelles; a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks, and German Albatros D.
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The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. Like all armies, it has the primary responsibility for land-based military operations.
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Battle of Verdun was one of the most important battles in World War I on the Western Front, fought between the German and French armies from 21 February to 18 December 1916 around the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in northeast France.
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MottoLiberté, Égalité, Fraternité"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem"
La Marseillaise"
..... Click the link for more information. hospital is an institution for health care, often but not always providing for longer-term patient stays. Today, hospitals are usually funded by the state, health organizations (for profit or non-profit), health insurances or charities, including direct charitable donations.
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Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center (MPL) is a library system serving the residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. It was founded as the Minneapolis Athenæum in 1860.
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October 15 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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Year 1921 (MCMXXI
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February 5 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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Year 1922 (MCMXXII
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Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary.
This term is taken from the motto ("Alma Mater Studiorum") of the oldest European continually operating
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Macalester College is a privately supported, coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a 53 acre (21.
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