San Francisco
County
Biographies
PAUL
CLIFFORD SMITH
Paul
Clifford Smith editor and general manager of San Francisco Chronicle, was born
in Seattle, Washington, on November 24, 1908; the son of Wallace B. and Carrie
Augusta (Mason) Smith.
He received his education through
private tutors and Pescadero (California) High School
(1922-23).
Mr. Smith worked in lumber camps,
coal mines and on farms in the United States and Canada, 1924 to 1928; engaged
in investment banking in San Francisco and New York from 1928 to 1931; European
correspondent, 1932-33. He has been with the San Francisco Chronicle since
March of 1933, as financial editor, 1933-35, executive editor, 1935-37, editor
in 1937, and editor in chief and general manager since 1937.
The first day of World War II, Mr.
Smith was called to duty as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy,
serving in Washington, 1941-42. He resigned to enlist in the Marine Corps in
1942; second lieutenant on combat duty as rifle platoon leader Solomon Islands
and Marianas, 1943-44; Secretary Forrestal ordered his return to Navy as a
Commander for service with Fifth Fleet staffs at Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Tokyo, in
1945. His military decorations include the Bronze Star (2), Silver Star, and
Legion of Merit with combat “V.”
Mr. Smith is unmarried. He is a
Republican. Received awards as Outstanding Young Man of 1938
and again in 1942 by Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Member of the following clubs:
Pacific Union, Burlingame Country, Bohemian, Press (San Francisco), and
National Press (Washington, D.C.).
Offices: San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco,
California.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: “Eminent Californians 1953”,
by Lee E. Johnson & C. W. Taylor. Page 296, C. W. Taylor
Publ., Palo Alto, California, 1953.
© 2014 Cecelia M. Setty.
San Francisco County Biographies