Cornelius Ryan facts for kids
Cornelius Ryan (born June 5, 1920 – died November 23, 1974) was an Irish-American journalist and author. He became famous for writing exciting books about military history, especially about World War II.
His most well-known books include The Longest Day (1959), about D-Day; The Last Battle (1966), about the Battle of Berlin; and A Bridge Too Far (1974), about Operation Market Garden.
Cornelius Ryan was born and grew up in Dublin, Ireland. He started working as a journalist in London in 1940. He reported on World War II, traveling with soldiers in Europe. After the war, he covered the creation of Israel. In 1947, he moved to the United States to work for TIME magazine. He became a US citizen in 1951 and lived there for the rest of his life.
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Early Life and School
Cornelius Ryan was born in Dublin, Ireland. He went to school at Synge Street CBS in Portobello. As a boy, he was an altar boy at St Kevin's Church. He also learned to play the violin at the Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. He was a boy scout and traveled to Rome with his troop in 1934.
Journalism and Writing Career
What I write about is not war but the courage of man.
In 1940, Ryan moved to London. He became a war reporter for The Daily Telegraph newspaper in 1941. At first, he reported on the air battles in Europe during World War II. After the United States joined the war, he flew on fourteen bombing missions with the US Army Air Forces.
He later joined General George S. Patton's Third Army. He reported on their actions until the war in Europe ended in 1945. That year, he moved to the Pacific region to cover the war there until it ended. In 1946, he went to Jerusalem to report on the end of British rule and the start of an independent Israel.
Ryan moved to the United States in 1947 to work for TIME magazine. He reported on the atomic weapon tests by the US in the Pacific. He also covered the Israeli war in 1948 for TIME. Later, he wrote for other magazines like Collier's Weekly and Reader's Digest.
He married Kathryn Morgan (1925–1993), who was also a writer. Ryan became a US citizen in 1951.
Writing About World War II
In 1949, Ryan visited Normandy, France. He became very interested in telling the full story of Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day. He started collecting information and interviewed over 1,000 people. He gathered stories from Allied soldiers, German soldiers, and French civilians.
In 1956, he began writing his notes into a book called The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D-Day. This book tells the story of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. It was published in 1959 and became an instant success. The rights to make a movie were bought. Ryan helped write the script for the 1962 film of the same name.
Ryan's 1957 book, One Minute to Ditch!, is about a successful emergency landing of a Pan American airplane on the ocean. He first wrote an article about this event for Collier's magazine. Then, he expanded it into a book.
His next major book was The Last Battle (1966). This book is about the Battle of Berlin at the end of World War II. It includes detailed stories from civilians and soldiers from America, Britain, Russia, and Germany. The book describes the difficult military and political situation in 1945. At that time, Western Allies and the Soviet Union were racing to free Berlin and divide Germany.
Ryan then wrote A Bridge Too Far (1974). This book tells the story of Operation Market Garden. This was a difficult plan by Allied airborne forces in the Netherlands, which ended with the Battle of Arnhem. This book was also made into a major movie in 1977.
Ryan became ill in 1970. He worked hard to finish A Bridge Too Far while he was sick. He passed away in Manhattan in 1974, just two months after his last book was published. He is buried in Ridgebury Cemetery in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Four years after he died, his wife, Kathryn Morgan Ryan, wrote a book about his last years. It was called A Private Battle (1978). She based it on notes he had secretly left for her.
Awards and Recognition
- Ryan received the French Legion of Honour, a very important award.
- He was given an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Ohio University. His writings and papers are kept there in the Cornelius Ryan Collection at Alden Library.
See also
In Spanish: Cornelius Ryan para niños
