Clarence Shepard Day Jr. (November 18, 1874 – December 28, 1935) was an American author and cartoonist, best known for his 1935 work Life with Father.
Early life and family background
Day was born in New York City to Lavinia (née Stockwell) Day and stockbroker Clarence Shepard Day Sr.
Clarence Sr.'s firm was established in 1854 and had offices at 21 and 40 Wall Street, next to Federal Hall, and was a member of the Metropolitan Club, Union League Club, American Yacht Club (New York), and New England Society of New York.
His grandfather Benjamin Day and great-uncle Moses Yale Beach were the founders in 1833 of the New York Sun. His uncle Benjamin Henry Day Jr. was the inventor of the Ben Day printing process.
Day attended St. Paul's School and graduated from Yale University in 1896, where he edited the campus humor magazine The Yale Record. He became also a member of the Yale Club of New York. He soon returned to New York City, however, and began publishing the Yale Alumni Weekly and contributing essays and drawings to various publications.
The American Library Association honored individuals for outstanding work in encouraging the love of books and reading with the Clarence Day Award from 1959 to 1980. Honorees included Robert B. Downs, Mary Ann O'Brian Malkin, Dee Brown, Frances Clarke Sayers and Granville Hicks.
Personal life
Day's brother George Parmly Day (1876–1959) was the longtime treasurer of Yale University and co-founder, with Clarence, of the Yale University Press. His brother Julian Day (1878–1947) was a stockbroker and soldier who served in the British Army during World War I, serving at Gallipoli and Palestine. He rose to the rank of major in the Imperial Camel Corps, was wounded in battle in 1918 and received the Military Cross and Order of the Nile. He lived in London much of his life.
Day died in New York City of pneumonia shortly after the publication of Life with Father, after it became a best-seller but before its success on Broadway. He was survived by his wife Katherine Briggs Dodge Day and their daughter Wendy.