Robert H. Estabrook was born in Dayton, Ohio, October 16, 1918, the son of Charles B. and Christianne M. (Harley) Estabrook.
In 1936, he was City Editor of the Emmet County Graphic,of Harbor Springs, Michigan. He became the Editor of the Daily Northwestern, of Northwestern University, during 1938 and 1939. In 1939, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern. He became a reporter for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, and held that post from 1939 to 1940. At that point, he became editorial writer, and remained with the newspaper until 1942. From there Estabrook went to The Washington Post, and was an editorial writer from 1946-1953, and from 1953-1961, he was Editor of the Editorial Page. It was in 1954, that he received the Sigma Delta Chi award for the best editorial. He became Chief Foreign Correspondent to London in 1961, and maintained that position until 1965, when he assumed the position of Associate Editor. In 1966, he became United Nations Correspondent in New York, a position which he holds today.
Estabrook also served in the Army of the United States from 1942 to 1946, where he worked his way up from the rank of private to captain. During 1945, he was in charge of the Army Newspaper and radio station in Brazil.
While working on The Washington Post, Estabrook also was a lecturer in Journalism at the University of Maryland, from 1948-1949. He has contributed to a number of magazines throughout his career.
Estabrook is a member of a number of organizations, including the National Conference of Editorial Writers, of which he was a founder in 1947, and served as president from 1950-1951; the Overseas Writers; the White House Correspondents' Association; Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Delta Chi; and Delta Tau Delta. He is a former member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Robert H. Estabrook married Mary Lou Stewart in 1942. They have four children: John Stewart, Margaret Harley, James Ross, and David Morse. He makes his home in Pelham, New York, with offices on Madison Avenue in New York and at the United Nations.
