Henry Brandon (journalist)

Oscar Henry Brandon CBE (9 March 1916 – 20 April 1993) was a Czech-born British journalist employed by The Sunday Times, who worked for most of his career in Washington.

Henry Brandon CBE
Born	Oscar Henry Brandon (1916-03-09)9 March 1916 Liberec, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
Died	20 April 1993(1993-04-20) (aged 77) Bloomsbury, London, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Prague University of Lausanne
Employer	The Sunday Times (1943–1983)
Spouse(s)	Muffie Cabot ​ ( m. 1970; his death 1993)
Children	1
Relatives	Ali Wentworth (stepdaughter)

Early life

Brandon was born in Liberec, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on 9 March 1916 to a banker father whose surname was "Brandeis".[1] He was educated at the University of Prague in Czechoslovakia and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.[2]

Career

Brandon moved to London in 1939 and became a freelance contributor to The Sunday Times. He then served within the newspaper in the posts of war correspondent from 1943 to 1945, Paris correspondent from 1945 to 1946, roving diplomatic correspondent from 1947 to 1949, and most notably, chief Washington correspondent from 1950 to 1983. In that role, he built friendships with prominent figures in US politics, including Henry Kissinger[2] and John F. Kennedy.[3] It was ordered by the US president, Richard Nixon, that Brandon's phone be wiretapped in 1969, as, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "the extent of his political knowledge was so well known". He was associate editor of The Sunday Times for 20 years, in parallel with his role in Washington, from 1963 to 1983.[3]

After retiring from The Sunday Times, he became a guest scholar in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution from 1983 until his death. He also spent time at both The New York Times[2] and The Washington Star as a columnist.[4]

According to his colleague Phillip Knightley, it was "well known among the press pack" that Brandon worked for MI6.[5]

Personal life

Brandon married the socialite Mabel Hobart Wentworth, better known as Muffie Cabot, in 1970, with whom he had one daughter.[6] His stepdaughter was Ali Wentworth, an actress who married the TV anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Brandon became a naturalised British citizen. He lived in Washington.[3]

Death

Brandon died at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, in Bloomsbury, on 20 April 1993. Notice of his death, and his cause of death, a stroke, were announced the next day.[3]

Honours

Brandon was appointed Commander of the Order of British Empire in 1985.[2]

Bibliography

• Brandon, Henry (1966). In the Red: The Struggle for Sterling, 1964-1966. Deutsch. ISBN 978-0714870434.
• Brandon, Henry (1970). Anatomy of Error: The Secret History of the Vietnam War. Deutsch. ISBN 978-0233961859.
• Brandon, Henry (1973). The Retreat of American Power. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385016551.
• Brandon, Henry (1989). Special Relationships: A Foreign Correspondent's Memoirs from Roosevelt to Reagan. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0689115882.
• Brandon, Henry (1992). In Search of a New World Order: The Future of U.S.-European Relations. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0815710585.

References

1. "Brandon [formerly Brandeis], (Oscar) Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
2. "Henry Brandon British journalist". Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
3. Pace, Eric (21 April 1993). "Henry Brandon, British Correspondent, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
4. Hodgson, Godfrey (23 April 1993). "Obituary: Henry Brandon". The Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
5. Duns, Jeremy (3 March 2013). "The 'secret agents' of the UK press". BBC News. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
6. "Elizabeth Tilt Wentworth is to marry Christopher David Ferrone in October". The New York Times. 16 March 1986. Retrieved 5 August 2020.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Henry Brandon on IMDb