William Howland Taylor
William Howland Taylor was a prominent American yachting journalist and editor, born in 1901 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, into a family with deep roots in maritime life. His early experiences with sailing along the shores of Massachusetts instilled in him a lifelong passion for yachting. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1923, Taylor began his journalism career covering the waterfront for the New Bedford Standard, later working for various newspapers, including the Boston Herald. In 1927, he became the yachting editor for the New York Herald Tribune, a position he held until his naval service during World War II, where he achieved the rank of lieutenant commander.
After the war, Taylor returned to his writing career, becoming an associate editor and later the managing editor of Yachting magazine until 1962. He was influential in popularizing yachting through his extensive writing, which included articles, anthologies, and books, as well as notable features on famous yachtsmen and boatbuilders. Taylor’s contributions to sportswriting were recognized when he became the first recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for this genre. His work played a significant role in shaping American interest in yachting, blending his personal passion with impactful journalism.
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William Howland Taylor
Writer
- Born: May 31, 1901
- Birthplace: New Bedford, Massachusetts
- Died: January 6, 1966
- Place of death: Long Island, New York
Biography
The progeny of an old New England family that identified closely with the sea as both sailors and fishermen, William Howland Taylor came by his enthusiasm for yachting quite naturally. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1901, he learned to row almost as soon as he learned to walk. Before he reached his teens, he learned to sail a variety of boats while spending summers in the family home at Salters Point in South Darmouth, Massachusetts. Taylor explored the areas close to Salters Point, such as Cuttyhunk Island, Hadley, Tarpaulin Cove, and Menemsha, spending as many hours as he could on the water. This idyll continued through Taylor’s student days at Dartmouth College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1923.
Following his graduation, he took a job with the New Bedford Standard and was assigned to cover the city’s waterfront. During the next four years, he also worked for the Fall River News and the Boston Herald, garnering valuable journalistic experience. In 1927, the New York Herald Tribune hired him as its yachting editor, a position he occupied until 1942.
With the United States at war, Taylor joined the navy in 1942, serving in 1943 and 1944 as executive officer and commanding officer aboard the USS PC 598. Before the end of World War II, he also served on a submarine chaser and a tanker. By the time he left the navy, he had attained the rank of lieutenant commander and was commanding officer of the USS Kennebec.
In 1923, Taylor began contributing articles to Yachting, the preeminent magazine about the sport. In 1945, shortly after he left the navy, he become an associate editor of Yachting, a position he held until January, 1952, when he was promoted to managing editor. He remained with the magazine until 1962, when illness forced him to retire. During his tenure as managing editor, he also was vice president of the Yachting Publishing Company.
Taylor wrote articles about yachting for magazines and newspapers, and many of his columns and articles were included in anthologies. He also published books about yachting and sailing and edited Just Cruising and On and Off Soundings. In 1958, he wrote the text that accompanies Morris Rosenfeld’s photographs in The Story of American Yachting, Told in Pictures.
Taylor was the first person to win a Pulitzer Prize for sportswriting. His writing about such notable yachtsmen as Sir Thomas Lipton, Tom Sopwith, and Captain Charlier Barr attracted considerable attention. He also wrote with an unmatched passion about some of the great yachts of his day and about their performance in the heady international competitions in which they participated. He honored important boatbuilders in his articles and helped the American public awaken to the mystique of yachting.