Peter Edson was born in Hartford City, Indiana, on February 8, 1895, the son of Charles Bloomfield and Mary Drayer Edson. His journalism career began in high school with work as a correspondent for the Fort Wayne (Indiana) News-Sentinel. He later worked his way through Wabash College as a reporter/correspondent for the Crawfordville (Indiana) Journal and the Indianapolis Star. Quitting school prior to graduation, Edson was a first lieutenant with the American Field Artillery in France during World War I. He then returned to Wabash College, graduating in 1920 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
From 1920 to 1921 Edson worked as a roustabout and apprentice tool dresser in the Ohio oil fields, returning to journalism to accept an $8-a-week job with the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. While at the News-Sentinel, Edson worked his way up to Sunday editor before leaving to become a sugar chemist on a plantation in Vera Cruz, Mexico. This profession was cut short by revolution, and Edson returned to the United States to enroll at Harvard University to work on an M.A. in English, with the intention of ultimately becoming a teacher. However, a part-time position with the Boston Sunday Post brought him back to journalism.
From 1924 to 1925 Edson was assistant Sunday editor of the Post and during the next few years held positions with the New Haven Register (1925) and the Pittsburgh Press (1927). In 1927 he became associated with the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) as editor of their Sunday Magazine. He was also editor, 1927-1931, of Every Week Magazine and editor-in-chief, 1932-1941, of NEA Service, Inc.
As an editor of NEA Edson was one of thirteen journalists who traveled by air clipper from America to New Zealand and Australia. This historic trip in 1940 caused a stir in Japan and resulted in a series of articles about the Pacific.
In 1941 Edson was named Washington, D.C. political columnist and head of the NEA's capitol bureau, and it was for this work that Edson is best known. On becoming a Washington columnist, Edson said that he would “like to try doing a very informal piece, going after the color and humor and the human interest of Washington....There is a gold mine of this copy which no one seems to have staked a claim on, and I'd like to work that mine.”
And work that mine Edson did. His columns appeared in more than 800 daily papers and were read by more than 13 million readers, making him the most widely read of the Washington columnists of his day. Edson was highly regarded for his knowledge of the capital scene and his thorough coverage of events, and he was popular with readers because of his ability to report complicated stories in an informal, humorous, and easily understood style.
In 1946 Edson won the Sigma Delta Chi award for outstanding capital coverage for his series “Atomic Power and Peace.” In 1949 he was chosen for the Raymond Clapper Award because of his general excellence in reporting on Washington. Edson then conducted his own awards, dividing his $500 prize among five other journalists whom he felt had done outstanding writing that year.
For his story on Richard M. Nixon's financial backing from wealthy southern California bankers, Edson won the National Headliners Club award in 1952. Edson's story, which reported a fund of $20,000, was published with Nixon's knowledge and permission; however, on the same day, the New York Post broke a similar story which charged that the secret fund totalled in the millions. Ultimately, the story resulted in Nixon's famous “Checkers” speech.
Edson is also known for his coverage of Dwight Eisenhower. In 1952 when Eisenhower resigned from his NATO command, Edson was the first with the story.
During his career, Edson belonged to several academic and professional organizations, including Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Delta Chi, Cosmos, the National Press Club, and the Overseas Writers Club. He retired from the NEA in 1964.
Edson was married to Dorothy M. Schultze on October 13, 1936. Edson died on July 14, 1977, survived by his second wife Joyce, and three children.
