Ben Bradlee Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the U․S․ Navy for three years during World War II, joining as an officer after serving in the Naval ROTC at Harvard
• Was the author of a bestselling book, "Conversations with Kenendy," and a memoir, "A Good Life․"
• Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013 for his contributions to journalism
• Under his leadership, The Washington Post won a total of 17 Pulitzer Prizes, including the Public Service award for its coverage of the Watergate scandal
• Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Greek and English in 1942
• After the war, he created the New Hampshire Sunday News with school friend Blair Clark
• First joined The Washington Post in 1948 as a reporter and held jobs as a press attaché for the American Embassy in Paris and as a European correspondent Newsweek before returning to the Post in 1957 as its Washington bureau chief
• Got his first job in the newspaper business as a copy boy for the Beverly Evening Times at the age of 15
• After taking over The Washington Post newsroom in 1965, he used a combination of aggressively-reported news stories and charming feature pieces to nearly double the newspaper's circulation
• Best known as the executive editor of The Washington Post for 26 years, credited with making it one of the world's leading newspapers through his coverage of the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers
• Was portrayed by actor Jason Robards in the 1976 film "All the President's Men․"