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White was born in Mount Vernon, New York and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1921. His nickname "Andy" derives from Cornell co-founder Andrew Dickson White--any student thereafter named White was called Andy. He spent several years working as a writer for the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-IntelligencerThe daily Seattle Post-Intelligencer is the second leading newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It has a daily circulation of 156,711 as of 2003. The P-I Seattle's first paper, was founded on December 10, 1863 as the Seattle Gazette by one J. and as an ad man before returning to New York CitySkyline, with Statue of Liberty New York, New York" redirects here. For alternate meanings, see New York, New York (disambiguation). New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York, in 1924Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 See also 1924 in aviation 1924 in film 1924 in literature 1924 in mu.
He published his first article in the newly founded The New YorkerThe New Yorker is a weekly American magazine (debuted on February 21, 1925), well known for popularizing the nearly plotless short story as a literary form in English in the mid- 20th century. The magazine also is known for its journalism— John Hersey's H magazine in 1925Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 See also 1925 in aviation 1925 in film 1925 in literature 1925 in mu, then joined the staff in 1927Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 See also 1927 in aviation 1927 in film 1927 in literature 1927 in mu. This made him moderately famous for the next six decades as he produced a long series of essays and unsigned "Notes and Comments" that were widely read as the magazine grew in influence. He gradually became the most important contributor to The New Yorker at a time when it was arguably the most important American literary magazine. He also served as a columnist for Harper's Magazine from 1938Events January -June January 3 The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. January 11 Frances Moulton is the first woman to become president of a US national bank. January 20 Wedding of king Farouk I of Egypt and Farida Zulficar in Cai to 1943.
In the late 1930s he turned his hand to children's fiction on behalf of a niece. His first children's book Stuart Little was published in 1945, and Charlotte's Web appeared in 1952. Both were highly acclaimed, and in 1970 jointly won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, a major prize in the field of children's literature. In the same year, he published his third children's novel, The Trumpet of the Swan .
In 1959 he edited and updated the classic The Elements of Style. Originally written and published in 1918 by William Strunk Jr., the book is a handbook of grammatical and stylistic dos and don'ts for written American English. White had studied under Strunk while at Cornell in the years following World War I. Further editions of the work followed in 1972, 1979, and 2000. It is a standard accessory for students and writers.
In 1978 he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his work as a whole. Other awards he received included a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, and memberships in a variety of literary societies throughout the United States.
He died on October 1, 1985 of Alzheimer's Disease at his farm home in North Brooklin, Maine.
White married Katharine Sergeant Angell in 1929, also an editor at the magazine and author (as Katharine White) of Onward and Upward in the Garden. They had a son, Joel, a boatbuilder. Katharine's son from her first marriage, Roger Angell, was a fiction editor for the New Yorker, but is perhaps better known as a baseball writer.
White's style was stereotypically "Yankee": wry, understated, thoughtful, and informed. He was widely regarded as a master of the English language, noted for clear, well-constructed, and charming prose.