Mr. Henry Loomis, Director of the Voice of America from 1958 – 1965 passed away last week. From the The Washington Post’s obituary:
Mr. Loomis realized that English was becoming an international language and was eager for it to be more accessible to VOA’s international audience. He pushed for the development of Special English, for listeners learning the language. The news was delivered at a slower pace of nine lines a minute, spoken accurately, and with a vocabulary limited to 1,500 words.
Mr. Loomis quit as VOA director in 1965 after a falling-out with President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War. Johnson demanded that VOA keep quiet about American planes flying over Laos. Believing that VOA had an obligation to report the news, Mr. Loomis resigned in protest.
Read the whole obit for a greater feel for the amazing life Mr. Loomis lived.
