Walter Millis

{{Short description|American historian (1899–1968)}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2008}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}

'''Walter Millis''' (March 16, 1899 – March 17, 1968) was an editorial and staff writer for the ''New York Herald Tribune'' from 1924 to 1954. Millis was a staff member of the Fund for the Republic from 1954 to 1968. He later became the director of the Fund for the Republic's study of demilitarization in 1954.

Millis, widely recognized as a historical writer, wrote eight books including: ''Road to War: America 1914–1917'', ''This is Pearl! The United States and Japan—1941'', ''Why Europe Fights'', ''Viewed Without Alarm: Europe Today'', ''Arms and Men: A Study of American Military History'', ''The Martial Spirit: A Study of Our War with Spain'', and ''An End to Arms''. He also edited ''The Forrestal Diaries''.

==Early life== Millis was born in Atlanta, GA, the son of John Millis, a regular army officer, and Mrs. Mary Raoul Millis. He graduated from Yale University, although his studies were interrupted by World War I, when he joined the Army and became a second lieutenant in the field artillery. He received his A.B. degree from Yale in 1920.<ref>{{cite news|title=Walter Millis, Military Writer, Editor and Historian, 69, Dies|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 18, 1968|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/18/archives/walter-millis-military-writer-editor-and-historian-69-dies-prepared.html}}</ref>

==Family== His first marriage, to the former Norah Thompson, ended in divorce. They had two children, Walter Millis Jr. and Sarah (Millis) McCoy. His second marriage, to fashion journalist Eugenia Sheppard in 1944, ended with his death. He was survived by six grandchildren.

==Works== His book ''Road to War'' had been tagged as "the isolationists' bible".<ref>{{Cite web |last=MMillis |first=Walter |date=14 January 1941 |title=Walter Millis, Author of "Road to War," Defends Book Against Heated Criticism |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1941/1/14/walter-millis-author-of-road-to/ |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref> *''The Martial Spirit - A Study of our War with Spain (1931)'' *{{Citation |last=Millis |first=Walter |title=Arms and Men: A Study in American Military History |date=March 1957 |work=Political Science Quarterly |volume=72 |issue=1 |url=https://academic.oup.com/psq/article-abstract/72/1/119/7149560 |place=New York |publisher=G. P. Putnam’s Sons}} *{{Cite book |last=Millis |first=Walter |title=An End to Arms |publisher=Atheneum |year=1965 |location=New York}}

==Sources== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{FadedPage|id=Millis, Walter|name=Walter Millis|author=yes}} *[http://www.authorandbookinfo.com/ngcoba/mi.htm Author and Book Info.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millis, Walter}} Category:1899 births Category:1968 deaths Category:20th-century American historians Category:20th-century American male writers Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:Historians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Historians from New York (state) Category:New York Herald Tribune people Category:Place of death missing Category:Writers from Atlanta