Croly, Herbert David (1869-1930)

US editor and author. He wrote extremely influential books The Promise of American Life (1909) and Progressive Democracy (1914), which called on Americans to reexamine the true nature and goals of their society. Willard Straight, a wealthy diplomat and financier, founded the New Republic in 1914, expressly so Croly could edit it to further his ideas.

He was born in New York City, the son of David Goodman Croly, a prominent Irish-born journalist, and Jane Cunningham Croly, also a journalist and an activist for equal rights for women. He interrupted his studies at Harvard between 1886 and 1899 to work as an editor in New York City and to study abroad. From 1900-06 he was editor of the Architectural Record. Although aligned with Progressives, he endorsed President Woodrow Wilson's position on entering World War I, then opposed Wilson's acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles. This cost the New Republic many readers. In his final decade, having lost his influence in political circles, he took up religious and philosophical questions.