Background
Watson Davis was born on April 29, 1896 in Washington, D. C. He was the son of Charles Allan Davis, founder and principal of Washington's Business High School, and Maud Watson, a teacher.
(Excerpt from Atomic Bombing: How to Protect Yourself Thi...)
Excerpt from Atomic Bombing: How to Protect Yourself This right and duty to publish what the people wish to know and should know motivates this book, as it does the whole civilian defense program of our nation confronted by atomic danger from without. The facts within this book and the conclusions reached, not always pleasant and reassuring, will serve to alert and safe guard not alone the ordinary citizen, but many members of the great body of public officials, ranging from those in villages to the Federal Government itself. The information conveyed in this book is of necessity a part of the American scene today. Those of us who have to confront the dangers of atomic attack should rejoice that we at least, unlike those behind the Iron Curtain, have some immunizing appreciation of these dangers. When danger is known, some thing can be done about it. Ignorance is a breeder of false security. We are convinced here in America that the right to know is as precious as our strength to resist the forces in the world which would like to enslave us in ignorance. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Watson Davis was born on April 29, 1896 in Washington, D. C. He was the son of Charles Allan Davis, founder and principal of Washington's Business High School, and Maud Watson, a teacher.
After attending public schools in Washington, Davis went to George Washington University, where he received a bachelor's degree in civil engineeringin 1918 and a civil engineering degree in 1920.
While in school, Davis worked at various jobs simultaneously, a habit that persisted throughout his life; his interests ranged so broadly that he could not confine himself to a single task.
In 1917 he began working as an assistant engineer-physicist for the National Bureau of Standards, and three years later, he took an evening job as scienceeditor for the Washington Herald. A year later, he left the National Bureau of Standards and became news editor of the newly created Science Service, a syndicated news agency founded by the newspaper magnate E. W. Scripps and the zoologist William E. Ritter.
In 1922, Davis left the Herald to devote full time to Science Service and edit its new Science News Letter (later Science News). Although Science Service was directed by the chemist-turned-popularizer Edwin E. Slosson, Davis served (from 1923) as managing editor and secretary for the entire organization. Slosson died in 1929, and Davis was named acting director. He did not become director until 1933, a delay he attributed to the trustees' desire to find someone with stronger scientific credentials than his own. They also may have been put off by Davis' personality.
By the early 1930's, Davis had established Science Service as the standard for science journalism. More than 100 newspapers published its regular columns of science news. The circulation of Science News Letter grew from 6, 000 in 1930 to 30, 000 in 1940.
In 1930, on the Columbia Broadcasting System, Davis established a nationwide "Adventures in Science" radio interview program that continued until 1959. In 1934 he helped create the National Association of Science Writers (NASW); so many of its potential members were Science Service reporters that NASW founders decided to explicitly limit the organization's voting influence. Davis' commitment to the popularization of science became something of a personal mission.
Realizing that newspaper reports of science could play only a part in this mission, in 1941 he turned to three activities intended to stimulate an interest in science among young people: the Science Talent Search, science fairs, and Science Clubs of America. Although funded and operated independently, the three activities fed each other. Through a series of competitions, the Science Talent Search brought the nation's most promising high school science students to Washington for lectures and seminars; many went on to prominent and award-winning careers in science.
The science fairs were regional events, originally sponsored by New York's American Institute, but Science Service enlarged the program and sponsored the International Science Fair at the peak of the competitive pyramid. And the Science Clubs of America, provided with ideas, badges, and other paraphernalia by Science Service, often served as the locus for talent-search and science-fair activities. While developing these new programs, Davis maintained his day-to-day involvement with Science News Letter and the syndication service.
In 1940 his wife began working regularly at Science Service to handle business affairs and, later, editorial work on Chemistry, a popular magazine that the organization published from 1944 to 1962. In 1941, Science Service established its independence from its sponsoring organizations by moving out of the National Academy of Sciences building into its own headquarters. Davis continued his outside activities.
In 1926, he and Slosson had started experimenting with new bibliographic techniques. In 1935, Davis applied his organizational skills to bring together similar activities from Science Service, the United States Department of Agriculture, and elsewhere to create the American Documentation Institute (ADI), devoted to innovations in bibliography and library work, especially micropublication and microfilm (a word credited to Davis). From 1937 to 1947 he served as president of the ADI.
Other outside activities included the National Inventors Council (from 1940) and active trustee positions with George Washington University (1949 - 1961), Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine (1949 - 1967), and the National Child Research Center.
By the time World War II ended, Davis had become an autocratic leader, the undisputed embodiment of Science Service. The board of directors was not active, and Davis delegated no significant power to other staff members.
Because he paid low wages and granted vacations only grudgingly, he lost many of his experienced staff members and failed to retain new ones. His devotion to science pleased the scientific community, but his growing involvement in youth activities and education took him away from Science Service's journalism base.
At the same time, many journalists and scientists unconnected with Science Service began to recognize the value of science journalism. As a result, Science Service lost its preeminence and did not play a major role in the booming response to the postwar demand for popular science. Finances at Science Service became strained in the 1950's as sales of the syndicated news service fell, the quality of Science News Letter dropped, and funding for many of the youth activities proved insufficient. To bring in money, Davis took on administrative contracts for National Science Foundation (NSF) seminars, as well as other government contract work. By the time NSF established its Public Understanding of Science program in the late 1950's, Davis was unable to present proposals sufficiently well argued to be funded. Science Service continued to drift for the next decade.
Unwilling to retire gracefully, Davis was forced to leave Science Service in 1966.
(Excerpt from Atomic Bombing: How to Protect Yourself Thi...)
Quotations: "Science reporting and interpretation does not accomplish its purpose if it does not bring about an appreciation and a utilization of the method of science in everyday life, " he later wrote.
Davis was known as a desk-pounding, foulmouthed, "feisty little man. " At the same time, he was considerate, kept candy in his desk for visitors, and would quickly forget his rages.
On December 6, 1919, Davis married Helen Augusta Miles, who had received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the same school; they had two children.
Davis' wife and partner died in 1957, and on November 21, 1958, he married Marion Shaw Mooney, a widowed teacher.