Writer and historian John Joseph Gunther (1901–1970) was born on this day in Chicago. Fascinated by facts and research, he wrote his first encyclopedia at age eleven.

“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast,” he once said.

A celebrated journalist and bestselling author, Gunther wrote a series of 1,000-page "Inside" books exploring the politics and cultures of the world. His passion was delving, probing, learning deeply about his subjects.

Inside Asia (1939), Inside U.S.A. (1947), and Inside South America (1967) are among his most acclaimed works, collectively selling 3.5 million copies over 30 years.

“I am compelled to believe in my own self,” he said. “Whatever its manifest imperfections and shortcomings—or my life would hardly be worth living.”

He called America “the greatest, craziest, most dangerous, least stable, most spectacular, least grown-up and most powerful nation ever known.”

Gunther’s most personal work, Death Be Not Proud (1949), chronicled the tragic death of his 17-year-old son Johnny from a brain tumor. Titled from John Donne’s Holy Sonnet X, the memoir is a stirring reflection on courage, life, and enduring love.

“What is life?” Gunther asked. “It departs covertly. Like a thief Death took him.” As a father searching for meaning through unimaginable loss, his words still glow, with hunger for truth and the endless ache of a grieving heart.