• IdentificationMidwest MS Gruenberg
  • TitleInventory of the Robert Gruenberg Papers, 1947-1990 Midwest.MS.Gruenberg
  • PublisherThe Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts
  • RepositoryThe Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts
  • Physical Description4.6 linear feet (11 boxes)
  • Date1947-1990
  • Location1 20 6
  • AbstractCorrespondence, clippings, and personal materials of Chicago journalist Robert Gruenberg.
  • OriginationGruenberg, Robert, 1922-1992

Gift of Ruth Gruenberg, 1993.

The Robert Gruenberg Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

The Robert Gruenberg Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Robert Gruenberg Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Aaron Gordon, 1997, Shannon Yule, 2007.

This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Chicago Daily News political and urban affairs journalist, and Washington and foreign correspondent.

Robert Gruenberg was born in Chicago on September 13, 1922 and grew up in the Jewish community of Lawndale on the west side of Chicago. He became interested in journalism from an early age, serving as editorial editor and writer for his high school newspaper. Graduating from high school during the Depression, Gruenberg joined the Civilian Conservation Corps where he was assigned to a re-forestry and conservation camp in northern Wisconsin.

After the CCC, Gruenberg began his newspaper career in 1941 with the Chicago Daily News, serving first as a night clerk, then as a copy-boy in the City Room, and later as an intern reporter. During this time he attended Herzl Community College where he edited the college newspaper, the Herzlite.

In 1943 Gruenberg was drafted into the U.S. Army. In the army, Gruenberg received intensive Spanish language training. After his discharge he returned to the Chicago Daily News as a reporter, covering a wide range of local, county, and state affairs. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1953, majoring in Spanish and history.

From 1962-1966, Gruenberg served as the Washington Bureau chief for Chicago’s American, an evening newspaper. In 1966, he returned to the Daily News, and in 1968, he became a member of their Washington Bureau.

In 1978, shortly before the Daily News ceased publication, Gruenberg left to pursue a position in the Communications Department of the National Education Association where he remained until his retirement in 1986.

Gruenberg died in 1992, survived by his wife, Ruth Schwartz Gruenberg, and two children, Mark and Jeremy.

This collection consists mainly of the working papers of Chicago journalist Robert Gruenberg, including newspaper clippings and manuscripts of Gruenberg’s news reports and feature stories written for the Chicago Daily News and Chicago’s American covering a wide range of local, national, and international topics, his reporter’s notebooks from this era, and reports and speeches written while working for the National Education Association. Additionally, the collection contains a small amount of professional correspondence and personal materials.

Papers are organized in the following series:

Title Box Series 1: Correspondence and Personal Materials Box 1 Series 2: Works Boxes 2-11

  • Names
    • Allende Gossens, Salvador, 1908-1973
    • Castro, Fidel, 1926-
    • Gruenberg, Robert, 1922-1992
    • National Education Association of the United States.
  • Subject
    • Chicago
    • Civil Rights -- United States -- History -- 20th century
    • Investigative reporting
    • Journalism
    • Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
    • Military-industrial complex
    • Politics
    • Reporters and reporting -- Illinois -- Chicago
    • Social Action
    • Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Press coverage -- United States
    • Watergate Affair, 1972-1974
  • Geographic CoverageCuba -- History -- Revolution, 1959