Murray Kempton (b. December 16, 1917) was an important American journalist who was a significant presence on the political left for many years. He was born James Murray Kempton in Baltimore, Maryland. December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Baltimore skyline at dusk Motto: The Greatest City in America (formerly The City That Reads; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Nickname: Charm City Mob Town B-more Location in Maryland Founded Incorporated 30 July 1729 1797  County Independent city Borough Parrish Mayor Martin J...

He worked as a copyboy for H. L. Mencken at the Baltimore Evening Sun. He was educated at Johns Hopkins, where he was editor-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins News-Letter. After his graduation in 1939, he worked for a short time as a labor organizer, then joined the staff of the New York Post. H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956), better known as H. L. Mencken was a twentieth century journalist, satirist and social critic, a cynic and a freethinker, known as the Sage of Baltimore and the American Nietzsche. He is often regarded as one of the... Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was a Baltimore businessman, a Quaker, an abolitionist, and a philanthropist. ... The New York Post is one of the oldest (and according to some definitions, the oldest) newspapers still published in the United States. ...

He served in the Air Force during World War II, returning to the New York Post in 1949 as labor editor and later as a columnist. He also wrote for the Sun and World-Telegram in New York. An air force is a military organization that primarily operates in air-based war. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 37 million Civilians 25 million military World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest war in...

During the 1960s he edited The New Republic. In 1981 began writing a regular column for Newsday, and was also a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985. Cover from the August 30th, 2004 issue. ... Newsday is a daily tabloid newspaper which primarily serves Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens, although it is sold throughout the greater New York City metropolitan area. ... The New York Review of Books (or NYREV) is a biweekly magazine on literature, culture, and current affairs published in New York which takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity. ...

In his Newsday years, Kempton became something of an elder statesman for a new generation of politically conscious journalists. He never learned to drive, and hence could often be spotted riding a bicycle in Manhattan wearing a three-piece suit. He often smoked a pipe. As a writer he was something of a stylist, who achieved great precision with his sometimes byzantine sentences. Newsday is a daily tabloid newspaper which primarily serves Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens, although it is sold throughout the greater New York City metropolitan area. ...

His books include Part of Our Time: Some Ruins and Monuments of the Thirties (1955), America Comes of Middle Age: Columns 1950-1962 (1963), The Briar Patch: The People of the State of New York v. Lumumba Shakur (1973, winner of National Book Award), and Rebellions, Perversities, and Main Events (1994).

He died on May 5, 1997, at the age of 79 of a heart attack while battling pancreatic cancer. May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pancreatic cancer (also called cancer of the pancreas) is represented by the growth of a malignant tumour within the small pancreas organ. ...

In 2004 the NYRB imprint reprinted Part of Our Time. The book includes portraits of Paul Robeson, Alger Hiss, Whittaker Chambers, the Hollywood Ten, Elizabeth Bentley, Mary Heaton Vorse, and the labor leaders Walter Reuther and Joe Curran. USPS Black Heritage stamp Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American actor, athlete, singer, writer, and political and civil rights activist. ... Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was a U.S. State Department official and Secretary General to the founding charter conference of the United Nations. ... Whittaker Chambers in 1939 Jay Vivian (Whittaker) Chambers (April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer, editor, political operative and defector best known for his accusations of, and testimony on, charges of espionage and subversion against Alger Hiss, the architect of the Yalta Conference and Secretary General of... The Hollywood Ten was a group of American screenwriters, actors, and directors, alleged members of the Communist Party, who were convicted of contempt of Congress during the height of the Red Scare. ... Elizabeth Bentley A graduate of Vassar, Elizabeth Terrill Bentley (1905-1963) was studying in Italy at the University of Florence when she first became interested in fascism. ... Walter Philip Reuther (b. ...