Wallace, DeWitt (1889–1981), magazine editor and publisher, philanthropist, and Wallace, Lila (1888–1984)

Wallace, DeWitt (1889–1981), magazine editor and publisher, philanthropist, and Wallace, Lila (1888–1984), philanthropist.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, DeWitt Wallace proved an indifferent student. Expelled from Macalester College (where his father taught religion, Greek, and political science), he later dropped out of the University of California, Berkeley. After apprenticing at a St. Paul publishing firm, he joined the army. Wounded during World War I in the Meuse‐Argonne offensive, he perfected his idea for the Reader's Digest in a military hospital. On his return, he courted Lila Bell Acheson, a social worker. Born in Virden, Manitoba, Lila shared with DeWitt both a strict Presbyterian upbringing and a rebellious individualism. Married in October 1921, they published the first issue of Reader's Digest in New York City the following February, with Lila nominally listed as an editor to attract women readers. Later they transferred the headquarters of the Reader's Digest Association to Pleasantville, New York.

The Digest's emphasis on brevity, spiritual uplift, confidence‐building, real‐life dramas, and homey humor found a ready market. The editorial formula was later broadened to include original material in addition to condensed reprints from other magazines. From its inception, the magazine also reflected DeWitt's pronounced conservative views and nostalgic yearning for an idealized America. With government help, the first foreign editions appeared during and after World War II to counter Axis and communist propaganda. The immensely successful Condensed Books Division was launched in 1950. In 1955, to keep the cover price low, the Digest began accepting advertising.

In later years the childless Wallaces turned increasingly to philanthropy, particularly the arts and education. The Reader's Digest Association, worth three billion dollars, was bequeathed to seven major charities, with Macalester College as a major beneficiary. By the end of the twentieth century, published in nineteen languages, with a combined circulation above 27 million, the Reader's Digest remained the world's largest‐circulation magazine.
See also Journalism; Magazines; Popular Culture; Twenties, The.

Bibliography

John Heidenry , Theirs Was the Kingdom: Lila and DeWitt Wallace and the Story of the Reader's Digest, 1993.
Peter Canning , American Dreamers: The Wallaces and Reader's Digest: An Insider's Story, 1996.

John Heidenry