DeWitt Wallace
A Midwestern dreamer who revolutionized publishing by condensing the world's best articles into one pocket-sized, wildly popular magazine called Reader's Digest.
1889–1981 (age 92)·American magazine publisher·Birthday: November 12·The Lost Generation
Biography
DeWitt Wallace's idea was born in convalescence. Recovering from shrapnel wounds in World War I, the young Minnesotan spent hours in a hospital bed reading magazines, mentally editing them down to their most compelling essence. He envisioned a publication that would do just that: repackage the most informative and uplifting articles from a wide array of sources into a compact, digest format. After countless rejections, he and his new wife, Lila Acheson, launched Reader's Digest from a Greenwich Village basement in 1922. Its success was staggering. Wallace's genius was a mix of curation, relentless editing for clarity and optimism, and revolutionary direct-mail subscription marketing. For decades, the Digest was the world's most widely read magazine, a fixture in middle-class homes everywhere. It made Wallace immensely wealthy, but he remained a shy, detail-obsessed editor at heart, shaping a publication that sought to simplify, educate, and reassure a mass audience.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
DeWitt was born in 1889, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When DeWitt Was Born
The biggest hits of 1889
DeWitt's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1889Born
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1894Started school
President: Grover Cleveland
1902Became a teenager
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could drive
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Could vote
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Turned 21
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1919Turned 30
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1929Turned 40
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1939Turned 50
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1949Turned 60
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1959Turned 70
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1969Turned 80
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1981Died at 92
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
Key Achievements
- Co-founded and built Reader's Digest into the largest-circulation paid magazine in the world for much of the 20th century.
- Pioneered the 'digest' magazine format, condensing articles from other publications for a mass audience.
- Mastered direct-mail marketing techniques to build a massive subscription base, bypassing newsstand sales.
- Established the philanthropic DeWitt Wallace Fund, which later merged to form the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund.
Did You Know?
He and his wife Lila started Reader's Digest with a personal investment of just $5,000.
For the first issue, he typed all the subscription letters himself and licked the stamps.
He was an avid art collector, and his collection formed the basis of the Wallace Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Despite his wealth, he was known for his personal frugality, often reviewing office supply costs in minute detail.
“The only way to do a great deal is to love what you do.”
