Harold Latham

Harold Strong Latham (February 14, 1887 – March 6, 1969) was an American editor and publishing executive. He was editor-in-chief of Macmillan Inc., where he discovered and edited the works of notable writers including Margaret Mitchell and James Michener.^[1]

Harold Latham
Born	Harold Strong Latham (1887-02-14)February 14, 1887 Marlborough, Connecticut
Died	March 6, 1969(1969-03-06) (aged 82) Arlington, New Jersey
Education	Columbia University (BA)
Occupation(s)	Editor, publishing executive
Title	Editor-in-chief of Macmillan Inc.

Biography

Latham was born on February 14, 1887, in Marlborough, Connecticut. He graduated from Columbia in 1909 and joined Macmillan Publishers.^[2] He began his career in the advertising department and joined the editorial department that year. He wrote short stories, teenage novels, and plays.^[1][3][4]

Latham was promoted to vice president of the company in 1931 and retired in 1953 as editor-in-chief of the company. Latham was most known for discovering Margaret Mitchell on a 1935 trip to Atlanta for scouting potential authors. He edited the first version of Gone with the Wind, which became an instant bestseller and one of the most celebrated American novels.^[5][6] Mitchell credited Latham not only for her personal success but also for pursuing the work of other Southern authors,^[7] helping to redefine the South in American popular culture.^[8]

While an editor at Macmillan, Latham introduced and edited authors such as Edwin Arlington Robinson,^[9] Richard Llewellyn, Phyllis Bentley, Mary Ellen Chase, Rachel Field, Agnes Sligh Turnbull, Ernest Poole, Immanuel Velikovsky, and James A. Michener.^[1][10][11]

From 1947 to 1951, Latham also served as president of the Universalist Church of America and president of its publishing house from 1950 to 1952.^[1][12]

Latham died in Arlington, New Jersey, on March 6, 1969.^[1]

References

1. "HAROLD LATHAM,, PUBLISHER, DEAD; Chief Editor for Macmillan 'Found' Margaret Mitchell". The New York Times. 1969-03-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
2. Columbia College (Columbia University). Office of Alumni Affairs and Development; Columbia College (Columbia University) (1955). Columbia College today. Columbia University Libraries. New York, N.Y. : Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development.
3. Dyer, Annie Robertson (1924). Guide to Literature of Home and Family Life: A Classified Bibliography for Home Economics. J. B. Lippincott Company.
4. "Latham, Harold Strong, 1887- | The Online Books Page". onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
5. "A PRICELESS STORY WAS ALMOST GONE WITH THE WIND DUE TO MITCHELL'S MODESTY". Deseret News. 1989-12-24. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
6. "GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN AFTER 50 YEARS, 'GWTW' IS A CHAPTER OF HISTORY". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
7. "Book Brevities". The New York Times. 1933-03-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
8. Cox, Karen L. (2011-05-15). Dreaming of Dixie: How the South Was Created in American Popular Culture. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-0-8078-7778-4.
9. Frost, Robert Lee; Frost, Robert (2007). The Collected Prose of Robert Frost. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02463-2.
10. Immanuel Velikovsky. Immanuel Velikovsky books - Worlds in Collision (1950), Earth in Upheaval (1955), Stargazers and Gravediggers (1983).
11. "1945-08-07 Letter from Harold Latham to James A. Michener | UNC Digital Archives". digarch.unco.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
12. "TRAINING OPPOSED BY UNIVERSALISTS; Church's General Assembly Elects Harold S. Latham as 5-Day Convention Ends". The New York Times. 1947-09-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-29.