Dora Jane Hamblin
A smiling middle-aged white woman with coiffed dark hair, wearing a dark suit
Dora Jane Hamblin, from 1961 newspaper
BornJune 15, 1920
Bedford, Iowa, US
DiedAugust 17, 1993(1993-08-17) (aged 73)
Trevignano, Italy
Other namesDodie Hamblin
Occupation(s)Journalist, editor

Dora Jane Hamblin (June 15, 1920 – August 17, 1993), known as Dodie Hamblin, was an American journalist and editor. She was the Rome bureau chief for Life magazine in Rome from 1956 to 1960, and oversaw the magazine's coverage of the 1960 Summer Olympics. She was granted special access to the families of astronauts in the Apollo program, to write the book, First on the Moon (1970).

Early life and education

Dora Jane Hamblin was born in Bedford, Iowa, the daughter of Allen Woolcott Hamblin and Grace Juliette Sailor Hamblin.[1][2] Her father was a World War I veteran and a newspaper editor and publisher. She graduated from Coe College in 1941, as a journalism major.[3] She was president of her sorority, Delta Delta Delta, and president of the school's Panhellenic Council,[4] while in college, and played tennis, hockey and basketball.[5] She earned a master's degree from Northwestern University in 1942.[6][7]

Career

During World War II, Hamblin worked at the Cedar Rapids Gazette,[8] and for the American Red Cross in Europe and New Guinea.[9] After the war, she wrote for the Red Cross Courier. She joined the staff of Life magazine in 1948, first as a researcher, and soon as a correspondent in Europe. She covered Eisenhower's 1950 visit to Europe with Gordon Parks.[10] She became the magazine's bureau chief in Rome in 1956; during her tenure there, she oversaw the magazine's coverage of the 1960 Summer Olympics[9] and the election of Pope John XXIII.[11] In 1960 she became assistant editor of the magazine, based in New York City, and in Houston from 1967 to 1969, to cover the Apollo program.[12] She retired from Life in 1970. She also wrote for Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian, and other national periodicals.[13]

Books by Hamblin included First on the Moon (1970, with Gene Farmer), Pots and Robbers (1970),[14] Buried Cities and Ancient Treasures (1973),[15] The First Cities (1973),[16] The Appian Way (1974, with Mary Jane Grunsfeld),[17] The Etruscans (1975),[18] and her memoir, That Was The Life (1977).[13] She also helped actress Mary Martin with her autobiography, My Heart Belongs (1976).[19][20][1]

Personal life and legacy

In 1970, Hamblin retired to Trevignano, Italy, and continued writing. She died from a heart attack in Italy, in 1993, aged 73 years.[21] Her papers are in the Iowa Women's Archives at the University of Iowa.[19] Some of her recordings and notes are also in the Time Inc. Life Editorial Records at the New-York Historical Society.[22] Hamblin appears in The Astronaut Wives Club (2013) by Lily Koppel.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 Longden, Tom (2007-12-30). "Hamblin Roamed the Globe for Life Magazine". The Des Moines Register. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Coe Names Three for Honorary Degrees During Commencement". The Gazette. 1968-05-15. p. 55. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Prominent Alum to Open Holiday in Chapel Talk". The Coe Cosmos. 1953-10-29. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Ten Students Are Named For Who's Who". The Coe College Cosmos. 1939-12-06. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Announce '40-41 W.A.A. Officers; Award Letters". The Coe Cosmos. 1940-05-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Alumni: Dora Jane Hamblin". Coe College History. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  7. ↑ "Coe Alumni to Hear Dora Jane Hamblin". The Gazette. 1961-05-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Time machine: Famed illustrator Norman Rockwell found inspiration in Cedar Rapids". The Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  9. 1 2 Bello, Nino Lo (1960-08-21). "Dodie Hamblin Directs Olympics Coverage for Life and Sports Illustrated Magazines". The Gazette. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-08-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Parks, Gordon (2005). Voices In The Mirror: An Autobiography. Harlem Moon. pp. 162, 191–192. ISBN 978-0-7679-2212-8.
  11. ↑ Hunt, George P. (January 18, 1963). "Editor's Note: A Candid Iowan who Writes about a Reluctant Italian". LIFE. p. 3.
  12. ↑ Nelson, Craig (June 29, 2009). "Excerpt: 'Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon'". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  13. 1 2 Howard, Jane (1977-05-15). "That Was The LIFE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  14. ↑ Hamblin, Dora Jane (1970). Pots and Robbers. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0671650865.
  15. ↑ Hamblin, Dora Jane (1973). Buried cities and ancient treasures. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-65207-9. OCLC 799462.
  16. ↑ Hamblin, Dora Jane (1973). The First Cities. Time Life Education. ISBN 9780809413010.
  17. ↑ Hamblin, Dora Jane (1974). The Appian Way, a journey. Mary Jane Loeb Grunsfeld ([1st ed.] ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-47233-0. OCLC 902986.
  18. ↑ Hamblin, Dora Jane (1975). The Etruscans. Time-Life Books. [Amsterdam]: Time-Life International. ISBN 0-7054-0088-3. OCLC 13099085.
  19. 1 2 "Dora Jane Hamblin papers, 1937-1993". UI Collection Guides. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  20. ↑ Kaufman, David (2016-07-12). Some Enchanted Evenings: The Glittering Life and Times of Mary Martin. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-250-03176-1.
  21. ↑ "Former Life Magazine Writer Dora Jane Hamblin Dies In Italy". AP News Wire. August 18, 1993. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Guide to the Time Inc. Life Editorial Records, 1937-2013". New-York Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  23. ↑ Koppel, Lily (2013-06-11). The Astronaut Wives Club. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4555-0323-0.
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