Martin S. Quigley papers

Martin S. Quigley was born in Chicago in 1917, the son of Martin J. Quigley, the distinguished publisher and editor of several influential motion picture trade journals. Martin S. Quigley attended Georgetown University and received an A.B. in 1939, graduating first in his class. Quigley was then trained as a reporter and film reviewer for the "Motion Picture Herald" and the "Motion Picture Daily." In the Spring of 1942, Martin S. Quigley helped set up the first U.S. Government newsreel for distribution in neutral countries. From November, 1942 to September, 1945 he was a secret undercover member of the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, having been recruited for intelligence work abroad by General William J. Donovan. From May to December, 1943, Quigley traveled in Great Britain and Ireland (then Eire) as a representative of Quigley Publishing and the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. During this time he sent regular reports to the MPPDA and the OSS about how film was being used in Ireland during the war and on general issues on the island such as neutrality and local sentiments about the war.

After returning to the United States for almost a year, Quigley was sent to Italy by the OSS with specific focus on Vatican City. While there, Quigley was notified by Donovan to contact the Japanese Ambassador to the Vatican, Ken Harada, to make an offer for peace negotiations through the Vatican in the Summer of 1945. Harada sent two telegrams to Tokyo concerning the possibility of the negotiations, but received no replies; meanwhile, U.S. intelligence intercepted these telegrams and prepared what is known as 'MAGIC' Diplomatic Summaries for use in Washington. Hence, even though Washington and Tokyo knew of possible negotiations in Vatican City (as well as through other neutral countries), peace did not come about until after the atomic bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In September, 1945 Martin S. Quigley was discharged from the O.S.S. and continued to work for Quigley Publications.

In 1946 Quigley married Katherine J. Dunphy and the two moved to Larchmont, New York where they lived and raised their nine children. Over the years, Martin S. Quigley has edited motion picture industry periodicals and written a number of books: "Great Gaels," "Roman Notes," "Magic Shadows," "New Screen Techniques (ed.)," "Catholic Action in Practice" (with Msgr. Edward Connors), "Films in America: 1919 - 1969" (with Richard Gertner), and a dissertation, "Government Relations of Five Universities in Washington, D.C." In 1975, Quigley received a Doctor of Education from Columbia University and soon began teaching graduate courses in college and university administration mostly at Baruch College of the City University of New York. From 1977 to 1984 he was engaged in local politics, elected first a Trustee and then Mayor of Larchmont. In 1984, he decided not to run for a third term in order to have time to write a book on his peace initiative at the Vatican. "Peace Without Hiroshima" was published in 1990.

Martin S. Quigley died on February 5, 2011.