Brand Whitlock

Whitlock, Brand (1869–1934), Ohio journalist and lawyer, after serving as a liberal reform mayor of Toledo (1905–13) was appointed minister (later ambassador) to Belgium (1913–22). During the war he distinguished himself as a humanitarian worker, both in behalf of such individuals as Edith Cavell and in relief administration. His liberal interests are shown in novels that belong to the nascent period of realism, mainly set in the town of Macochee, whose original was his home, Urbana, Ohio. These include The 13th District (1902), an objective depiction of the corruption of American politics and the inevitable moral disintegration of those concerned in it; Her Infinite Variety (1904), a light account of the embroilments of suffragettes in politics; The Happy Average (1904), a semi‐autobiographical novel; The Turn of the Balance (1907), a realistic story of the relation of criminals to modern society, and a humanitarian plea for social and prison reform; J. Hardin & Son (1923), a character study of the contrasts between two generations; Uprooted (1926) and Transplanted (1927), novels contrasting American and continental standards; and Big Matt (1928), a character study of a typical machine politician. In addition to his autobiography, Forty Years of It (1910), Whitlock wrote Belgium: A Personal Narrative (1919), books on contemporary politics, and biographies.

Brand Whitlock 1869-1934, American author and diplomat, b. Urbana, Ohio. After working as a reporter and practicing law, he became reform mayor of Toledo (1905-13). Meanwhile he wrote realistic novels chiefly concerned with politics, among them The Thirteenth District (1902) and The Turn of the Balance (1907). His service as U.S. minister and ambassador to Belgium from 1913 to 1922 was distinguished for his efforts to defend the British nurse Edith Cavell and for his care of refugees. His later novels are surpassed by his nonfiction— Belgium: a Personal Record (1919) and a fine biography of Lafayette (1929).

Bibliography: See his autobiography, Forty Years of It (1914), and his letters and journals (ed. with biographical introduction by A. Nevins, 2 vol., 1936). See also biography by D. D. Anderson (1968); studies by J. Tager (1968) and R. M. Crunden (1969).