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Robert Conway papers, circa 1872-1980

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Conway, Robert, 1899-1972
Title
Robert Conway papers
Dates
circa 1872-1980 (inclusive)
1919-1972 (bulk)
Quantity
33.5 cubic ft. (51 boxes) + 1 folder
Collection Number
06062
Summary
Papers of this New York based journalist and war correspondent, including manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, notes, notebooks, clippings, and other miscellaneous memorabilia.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

Robert John Conway, nationally known journalist, was born in Rome, Italy on 12 July 1899. He was the youngest son of John S. Conway, a well-known American artist and sculptor, and Agatha Milone Conway, a native of Italy. Conway moved to the United States with his family in 1902 and grew up in Cresskill, New Jersey. He was privately educated and tutored by his father.

To help support his family during his father’s illness, Conway took a job as an editorial staff writer with William Randolph Hearst’s New York American in 1924. He was soon transferred to Hearst’s New York Evening Journal, but returned to the American in 1925. Conway gained his formative journalistic training with these two newspapers and was soon covering major news stories. He covered the infamous Hall-Mills Murder Trial in 1926 and the Snyder-Gray Murder Trial a year later.

Conway became a staff writer for the New York Daily News in 1927 and enjoyed an illustrious career with this newspaper. He once again covered the Snyder-Gray Murder Trial, aiding in preparations to photograph the 1928 execution of convicted murderess Ruth Snyder. In 1931, he reported on the activities of New York beer racketeer Jack “Legs” Diamond.

Between 1932-1936, Conway covered the Charles Lindbergh Jr. Murder Case, including the child murder-kidnapping and the trial and subsequent execution of convicted murderer Bruno Hauptmann. In 1935, he scored a sensational scoop by becoming the first newspaperman to accurately report the jury’s guilty verdict against Hauptmann. For this media coup, Conway was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Conway covered other notable stories during the 1930s as well. Between 1936-1939, he served intermittently as acting head of the New York Daily News’s Washington Bureau and covered the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. In 1939, Conway investigated the preparedness of U.S. military arsenals on the eve of World War II.

Conway received his first foreign correspondent assignment when he was sent to Mexico in 1940. On this assignment, he traveled with Vice-President Henry Wallace during his state visit to that country. He also reported on the activities of Axis agents in Mexico. Between 1941-1945, he worked the Daily News’s War Desk, reporting on the political and economic developments of World War II.

Between 1945-1950, Conway served several stints as a foreign correspondent, reporting from 26 different countries in North America, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The beginning of the Cold War was a subject of interest to him. While covering Poland’s 1946 elections, he was arrested and briefly detained as a “capitalist spy” by Communist authorities. Particularly noteworthy is his work as a war correspondent. In 1946-1947, Conway covered the Greek Civil War. Between 1946-1948, he covered the civil war in Palestine between the Arabs and Jews. Conway received more peaceful assignments as well. On the Italian island of Stromboli, he interviewed Ingrid Bergman during her controversial romance with movie director Roberto Rossellini in 1949. In Great Britain, he reported on the 1950 Parliamentary Elections between Winston Churchill and Clement Atlee and covered the Klaus Fuchs Espionage Trial that same year.

Upon his return to the United States, Conway continued to be an active journalist. In 1951, he and his wife Grace Robinson investigated consumer goods shortages in the New York City area. In 1954, he covered the proxy fight for the New York Central Railroad, separately interviewing principals William White and Robert R. Young on television. Conway retired from the New York Daily News in 1964, but continued to write on a freelance basis.

Robert Conway married Grace Robinson, a fellow reporter at the New York Daily News, in 1937. In addition to his journalistic duties, Conway was an active member of the Newspaper Guild of New York, serving a term as president (1941-1943). He was also a member of the Overseas Press Club of America, serving two terms on the Board of Governors (1957-1959, 1961-1963). He was also involved in the civic and environmental affairs of Weston, Connecticut, his adopted hometown.

Robert Conway passed away on May 17, 1972.

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Content Description

Robert Conway papers include correspondence, clippings, manuscripts, notebooks, photographs, and other materials concerning his life and journalistic career. These papers are an excellent primary source of twentieth century history from Conway’s point of view, containing much information about the news stories he covered. They also document his journalistic work, revealing how he obtained and developed his stories, and how his articles appeared in their final form.

Of particular interest are the materials regarding Conway’s foreign correspondent assignments, which document the varying degrees of political, social, and economic upheaval he encountered in Post-World War II Europe and the Middle East. They also reveal that the job of a foreign correspondent, particularly that of a war correspondent, can be very difficult and even dangerous at times.

This collection also provides much information about Robert Conway himself. The papers provide insights into the conditions of journalists of his time and how he coped with them. The materials also reveal much about the private Robert Conway throughout his adult life. These papers document the age progression from a very capable young reporter to a retiree in failing health. Particularly revealing are the manuscripts he wrote after his retirement from the New York Daily News, which show Conway to be a man deeply affected by the events he witnessed.

On many items are notations written by Conway’s widow Grace Robinson, most of which were written after Conway’s death in 1972. While some useful information can be gleaned from these notations, researchers should be aware that Robinson was an elderly woman by this time, and that she may have been suffering from dementia.

Last of all, the papers reveal much about the New York Daily News, Robert Conway’s longtime employer. The collection documents how this New York City tabloid handled and presented the news stories of the 1920s-1960s as they occurred. One can also learn much about the internal operations of this newspaper as well.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The American Heritage Center holds copyright to the Robert Conway papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Robert Conway papers, Collection Number 06062, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Papers organized into eight series: I. Research Files; II. Correspondence; III. Personal Files; IV. Manuscripts; V. Photographic Materials; VI. Books; VII. Oversized; VIII. Artifacts.

Related Materials

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by Robert Conway at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

Robert Conway’s widow Grace Robinson and her niece Kathryn Murdock donated the Robert Conway papers to the University of Wyoming in several shipments between 1975-1987.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig in May 2003 and revised by D. Claudia Thompson in September 2009.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Journalism--United States.
  • Reporters and Reporting.

Personal Names

  • Hauptmann, Bruno Richard, 1899-1936.
  • Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974.
  • Lindbergh, Charles Augustus, 1930-1932.
  • Robinson, Grace, 1894-1985.
  • Bergman, Ingrid, 1915-1982.
  • Marzotto, Gaetano, 1894-1972.

Corporate Names

  • Newspaper Guild of New York.
  • Overseas Press Club of America.

Geographical Names

  • Great Britain--History--20th century.
  • Greece--History--Civil War, 1944-1949.
  • Italy--History--1945-
  • Mexico--History--1910-1946.
  • New York (N.Y.)--History--1898-1951.
  • New York (N.Y.)--History--1951-
  • Palestine--History--1917-1948.
  • United States--History--1865-

Form or Genre Terms

  • Negatives.
  • Photographs.

Occupations

  • Journalists.

Titles within the Collection

  • Daily news (New York, N.Y.: 1920).

Processed by Kenton G. Jaehnig
2006; 2009

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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