James L. Kilgallen papers, 1919-1978

James Lawrence Kilgallen had a career in journalism that spanned seventy-seven years. Born in 1888 in Pittston, Pennsylvania, Kilgallen started working as a reporter in 1903 for the "Chicago Daily Farmers and Drovers Journal." Kilgallen assumed half ownership and editorial duties of the "Laramie Daily Boomerang" in 1913 and served in that capacity until 1914, when he became editor of the "Indianapolis Daily Times." Kilgallen worked briefly for United Press International and the Associated Press before serving with the International News Service from 1920-1958. In 1958 the International News Service merged with United Press International. Kilgallen spent 1960-1966 with the "New York Journal American" before it folded. Kilgallen served with the Hearst Headline Service from 1966 until his retirement in 1981.

Kilgallen covered national and international stories, including the 1919 World Series Black Sox Scandal; the Lindberg-Hauptman trial (1932-1936) for the kidnapping of the Lindberg baby; the surrender of Germany at Rheims, France in 1945; the Bikini atoll atomic bomb tests; and the Alger Hiss trial in 1948. Kilgallen also interviewed such notables as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Al Capone, Winston Churchill and Bernard Baruch.

Kilgallen was married to Mae Ahern of Denver in 1912. Their daughter, Dorothy Kilgallen, was also a reporter for the "New York Journal American" before her death in 1965.