Sydney J. Harris

Sydney Harris was an Anglo-American journalist perhaps best known for his widely syndicated column “Strictly Personal.” Harris was born in London, but raised in Chicago where he spent his life, meeting his lifelong friend Saul Bellow in high school. He joined the Chicago Daily News in 1941, and began his column three years later in 1944. As a columnist, he was both popular enough to be syndicated throughout North America, and influential enough to end up on Richard Nixon’s master list of enemies. He also served on the usage panel for the American Heritage Dictionary. He died in Chicago after undergoing heart bypass surgery.