Benjamin Bradlee, who edited the Washington Post during the period when the newspaper published articles based on the Pentagon Papers and broke the Watergate story which eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation, has died at age 93.
Bradlee helmed the Post from 1968 to 1991, and became famous after the paper’s coverage of the Watergate scandal, when burglaries of the Democratic National Committee offices were linked to Nixon’s office, setting off a chain of events that eventually forced the president to resign. He was played by Jason Robards in All the President’s Men, which told the story of the Post’s discovery and coverage of the scandal.
He became close friends with John F. Kennedy when he was assigned to cover the his presidential campaign for Newsweek, but he had an advantage over the other reporters; he lived on the same Georgetown block as the young candidate, and they shared a back alley.
“I don’t want to disappoint too many people, but … the number of interesting political, historical conversations we had, you could stick in your ear,” recalled Bradlee about his friend. “We talked about girls.”
Bradlee’s Newsweek remembrance of JFK after his assassination became a book, That Special Grace. In 2013, Bradlee was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Benjamin Bradlee working at his typewriter on Aug. 3, 1956.Robert Delvac—Bettmann/CorbisFrom Left: Benjamin Bradlee, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Antoinette “Tony” Bradlee, and President John F. Kennedy in the White House Family Living Room on May 29, 1963 in Washington, D.C.Cecil Stoughton—John F. Kennedy Library and MuseumFrom Left: Benjamin Bradlee and President John F. Kennedy sit outside of the Kennedy family residence, Wexford, on Nov. 10 1963 in Atoka, VA.Cecil Stoughton—John F. Kennedy Library and MuseumFrom Left: Benjamin Bradlee, his wife Antoinette “Tony” Bradlee, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and President John F. Kennedy, and an unidentified man outside of the Kennedy family residence, Wexford, on Nov. 10 1963 in Atoka, VA.Cecil Stoughton—John F. Kennedy Library and MuseumFrom Left: Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, and Benjamin Bradlee, executive editor of the Washington Post, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 1971. The newspaper got the go-ahead to print Pentagon papers on Vietnam. APFrom Left: Executive Editor Benjamin Bradlee and Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, look over reports of the 6 to 3 Supreme Court decision which permitted the paper to publish stories based on the secret Pentagon study of the Vietnam War on June 30, 1971.Charles del Vecchio—Washington PostFrom Left: ABC Paris Bureau Chief Pierre Salinger, Washington Post Editor Benjamin Bradlee, David Brinkley and Alexander Haig (front center) before appearing on "This Week with David Brinkley" on Nov. 22, 1981.Bettmann/CorbisBenjamin Bradlee during the 1991 Writers Vs. Artists softball game in East Hampton, N.Y., on Aug. 17, 1991.Ron Galella—WireImageFrom Left: Benjamin Bradlee and reporter Bob Woodward talk during the program "Remembering Watergate: A Conversation" at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, Calif., on April 18, 2011. Chris Carlson—APPresident Barack Obama awards Benjamin Bradlee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Nov. 20, 2013 during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.Evan Vucci—APJournalist and Author Benjamin Bradlee sits for a portrait on Oct. 1, 1995.Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte—Corbis
