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Ralph Warren Edit Profile

aviator editor

Ralph Warren Cram was a newspaper editor and aviator.

Background

He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1869, son of Charles W. Cram, a physician, and Clarissa Deming.

Career

Cram was a cousin of American architect Ralph Adams Cram. He died in 1952. He was buried at Oakdale Memorial Gardens, among other historical figures prominent on Davenport"s history. In 1883 Cram began his newspaper career as a printer"s devil with the Davenport Democrat of Davenport, Iowa.

After being a reporter, city editor, and managing editor, in 1930 he became editor and publisher, a position he held until his retirement in 1940.

Cram was an acknowledged political analyst, and his editorials reflected life not only in Davenport, but in the state and nation as a whole. An authority on aviation and an avid pilot, in 1919 following World War I Cram began flying, and edited the History of War Activities of Scott County Iowa in 1921.

On 11 November 1928 (Armistice Day), Cram Field Davenport Municipal Airport was dedicated in his honor, and in 1934 he was appointed state director in charge of airport improvement in Iowa. Cram was a frequent contributor to aeronautic magazines and the author of "Soloing at Sixty-two." He wrote the story of his life in seventy-eight chapters, published serially in the Democrat and Leader, 1937-1939.

Views

Quotations: "Soloing at Sixty-two.".

Membership

He was a charter member of the National Aeronautic Association in 1922, and was also a sponsor of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association.