Dorothy Straight | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dorothy Elmhirst Straight May 25, 1958 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Youngest author |
| Works | How the World Began |
| Parent(s) | Michael Whitney Straight Belinda Booth Crompton |
| Relatives | Willard D. Straight (grandfather) Dorothy Payne Whitney (grandmother) |
Dorothy Elmhirst Straight [1] (born May 25, 1958) is an American author who wrote How the World Began in 1962 at the age of 4 [2] for her grandmother, Dorothy Payne Whitney, [3] making her among the youngest published authors in history. [4]
Dorothy Straight was born on May 25, 1958, in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Michael Whitney Straight (1916–2004) and Belinda Booth Crompton (1920–2015). [1] Her siblings include David Straight, Michael Straight Jr., Susan Straight, and Dinah Straight. [5]
Straight was named after her paternal grandmother, Dorothy Payne Whitney (1887–1968), the daughter of William Collins Whitney, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy during the Cleveland administration, and Flora Payne, the daughter of Senator Henry B. Payne of Ohio and sister of Col. Oliver Hazard Payne. [6] Straight's paternal grandfather was Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918), the son of Henry Harrison Straight (1846–1886). After her grandfather died of influenza during the 1918 pandemic, while serving with the United States Army in France during World War I, [7] her grandmother married Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974). Her father's siblings included Whitney Willard Straight and Beatrice Whitney Straight, an Academy Award winning actress. [5] Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Crompton Tobey, [8] was the widow of U.S. Senator Charles Tobey (1880–1953). [1]
In 1962, Straight, in response to her mother's question of "Who made the world?", wrote and drew her response all in one evening. [9] Her parents loved it so much that they sent it to Pantheon Books which published it in 1964, making her the youngest published author. [10] [11] Kirkus Reviews praised her work as a child, writing: [9]
Her art work is in the mainstream of the Kindergarten approach to paint and paper -- totally refreshing use of color and a wild approximation of shape. Her concept of God's activities during the Creation are nothing if not complete -- after inventing the jungle and its wild animals, he went on to pins and thread, birds and bees. The importance children place on the familiar and the furniture of their surroundings comes through in Dorothy's words and pictures. [9]
Harry Payne Whitney was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.
The Whitney family is a prominent American family descended from non-Norman English immigrant John Whitney (1592–1673), who left London in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elms, was built for the Whitneys in 1710. The Whitneys today continue to be involved in philanthropic efforts due to the wealth accumulated by past generations. They are also members of the Episcopal Church.
Dorothy Payne Elmhirst was an American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family.
Leonard Knight Elmhirst was a British philanthropist and agronomist who worked extensively in India. He co-founded with his wife, Dorothy, the Dartington Hall project in progressive education and rural reconstruction.
William Payne Whitney was an American businessman and member of the influential Whitney family. He inherited a fortune and enlarged it through business dealings, then devoted much of his money and efforts to a wide variety of philanthropic purposes. His will included funds to expand the New York Hospital, now called NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic was established.
Beatrice Whitney Straight was an American theatre, film, television and radio actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was both an Academy Award and Tony Award winner, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nominee.
Michael Whitney Straight was an American magazine publisher, novelist, patron of the arts, a member of the prominent Whitney family, and a confessed spy for the KGB.
Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight, was a British racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family.
Gladys Moore Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi, was an American heiress from the Vanderbilt family and wife of Hungarian Count László Széchenyi. Owner of the Breakers, the grandest residence in Newport.
Willard Dickerman Straight was an American investment banker, publisher, reporter, diplomat and by marriage, a member of the Whitney family. He was a promoter of Chinese arts and investments, and a major supporter of liberal causes.
Peter Cookson was an American stage and film actor of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his collaborations with his wife, Beatrice Straight, an actress and member of the Whitney family.
Willard Straight Hall is the student union building on the central campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is located on Campus Road, adjacent to the Ho Plaza and Cornell Health.
Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century and the first commander-in-chief of the Royal Indian Air Force upon Indian independence in August 1947, in which post he organised the funeral of Mahatma Gandhi following his assassination in 1948. He later became the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Guernsey from 1953 to 1958.
Asia was an American magazine that featured reporting about Asia and its people, including the Far East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. From 1934 to 1946, it was edited by Richard J. Walsh, with extensive contributions from his wife, Pearl S. Buck. Under their influence, the journal published many prominent Asian literary and political figures and American authorities. It was headquartered in Orange, Connecticut. In 1946, after many years of financial trouble, it was merged into a new journal, United Nations World.
Helen Julia Hay Whitney was an American poet, writer, racehorse owner and breeder, socialite, and philanthropist. She was a member by marriage of the prominent Whitney family of New York.
Olive, Lady Baillie was an Anglo-American heiress, landowner and hostess. She is best known as the owner of Leeds Castle, near Maidstone, Kent, England. On her death the castle was bequeathed to a charitable trust to enable it to be open to the public.
Nina Gore Auchincloss Straight is an American author, journalist, and socialite. She is the mother of writer/director Burr Steers and artist Hugh Auchincloss Steers, half-sister of Gore Vidal, step-sister of First Lady Jacqueline Onassis and socialite Princess Lee Radziwill.
Louis Dolivet, born as Ludovici Udeanu was an émigré writer, editor of Free World, film producer, and alleged Soviet spy born in Austria-Hungary, who later obtained French citizenship. From 1942 to 1949, he was married to Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actress Beatrice Whitney Straight, of the prominent American Whitney family.
Henry Harrison Straight was an American geologist, professor, second president of Peru State College, and the father of investment banker and diplomat Willard Dickerman Straight.
Flora Payne Whitney was an American socialite and philanthropist, originally from Cleveland, Ohio who moved to New York City and married into the Whitney family. She was the daughter of Henry B. Payne, a U.S. Senator, and the wife of William Collins Whitney, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy.
