Robert Ruark

Author of Something of Value

What is Robert Ruark known for?

Robert Chester Ruark Jr., famously known as Robert Ruark, was born on December 29, 1915, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was a renowned American author, syndicated columnist, and avid big game hunter.

In his early life, Ruark battled the personal and societal challenges of the Depression, yet succeeded academically. He graduated from New Hanover High School and enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by the age of just 15, where he attended journalism classes.

He embarked on his career journey in the 1930s, navigating a range of job sectors from accounting to the Merchant Marine, before gaining employment in two small-town newspapers in North Carolina. His big break came when he moved to Washington, D.C., in 1936 and secured a job as a copy boy for The Washington Daily News, swiftly rising to the position of top sports reporter within months.

Ruark served as a gunnery officer on Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys during World War II, after being commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy. In 1938, he married Virginia Webb, an interior designer from the Washington, D.C., area; they divorced in 1963.

Ruark's post-war writing career was defined by his engaging and provocative style. He joined the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance and started publishing both fiction and non-fiction works. Some of his popularly collected columns featured in books like 'I Didn't Know It Was Loaded' (1948) and 'One for the Road' (1949). His first novel, 'Grenadine Etching', was published in 1947.

The author fulfilled a lifelong dream of going on safari to Africa, an experience that seemed to have a profound impact on him, both personally and creatively. Some of his most notable works like 'Horn of the Hunter' and 'Something of Value' drew inspiration from these adventures.

Robert Ruark passed away on July 1, 1965, in London, England, leaving behind a remarkable legacy in 20th-century American literature and journalism.