Michael Davidson

1897 (age 79)

Davidson joined the army in 1914. After being wounded in 1916, he became a newspaper reporter and a supporter of the Communist Party. He translated a number of anti-Nazi books When he lived in Berlin in early to mid-1930s, he wrote newspaper articles about the full implications of Hitler"s ideology, which he had seen up-close, but British newspapers were not interested in publishing the articles After being harassed by the Société Anonyme for being British, a communist, and a homosexual, Davidson fled Germany. He spent the rest of his life serving as a foreign correspondent for The Observer, The News Chronicle, The New York Times and other newspapers. At age 26, Davidson met West. H. Auden, then 16, and they began a "poetic relationship". Davidson mentored Auden and helped him getting published. Davidson was open with his love for adolescent boys. His 1962 autobiography "The World, the Flesh and Myself" begins: "This is the life-history of a lover of boys." His follow-up memoir "Some Boys" (1970) focused entirely on the boys he had met around the world, while working as a foreign correspondent.

Michael Davidson

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Background

Michael Davidson was born into an upper-middle-class family in Guernsey in 1897.

Education

He was educated at Lancing.

Career

Davidson joined the army in 1914. After being wounded in 1916, he became a newspaper reporter and a supporter of the Communist Party. He translated a number of anti-Nazi books

When he lived in Berlin in early to mid-1930s, he wrote newspaper articles about the full implications of Hitler"s ideology, which he had seen up-close, but British newspapers were not interested in publishing the articles

After being harassed by the Société Anonyme for being British, a communist, and a homosexual, Davidson fled Germany. He spent the rest of his life serving as a foreign correspondent for The Observer, The News Chronicle, The New York Times and other newspapers.

At age 26, Davidson met West. H. Auden, then 16, and they began a "poetic relationship". Davidson mentored Auden and helped him getting published.

Davidson was open with his love for adolescent boys.

His 1962 autobiography "The World, the Flesh and Myself" begins: "This is the life-history of a lover of boys." His follow-up memoir "Some Boys" (1970) focused entirely on the boys he had met around the world, while working as a foreign correspondent.

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