Godfrey Sperling
Godfrey Sperling Jr. (September 25, 1915{{Spaced en dash}}September 11, 2013) was an American journalist for The Christian Science Monitor. Sperling was best known for running breakfasts in Washington, D.C. that journalists and politicians frequented.{{Cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Adam |date=2013-09-12 |title=Godfrey Sperling Jr., originator of newsmaker breakfasts, dies at 97 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/godfrey-sperling-jr-originator-of-newsmaker-breakfasts-dies-at-97/2013/09/11/39b51b1e-1b14-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
Biography
Godfrey Sperling Jr. was born in Long Beach, California, on September 25, 1915. His father was one of Idaho's first civil engineers.{{Cite news |date=1997-08-13 |title=Son of man, who platted Boise, treks to city in search of his roots |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-idaho-statesman-son-of-man-who-plat/168096410/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The Idaho Statesman |pages=5}} He grew up in Urbana, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a child he was often referred to by the nickname "Budge", which would stick for the rest of his life. Sperling began working for The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) in 1946.{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |date=2013-09-13 |title=Godfrey Sperling, Who Made Eggs for Press, Dies at 97 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/us/godfrey-sperling-made-eggs-for-press-dies-at-97.html |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
Sperling was also a member of the Gridiron Club.{{Cite news |date=1991-03-24 |title=Gridiron Club rides again |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-gridiron-club-ri/168096346/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |pages=17 |via=Newspapers.com}}
= Breakfasts =
From 1966 to 2001, Sperling hosted 3,241 breakfasts in Washington, D.C. which were attended by journalists and politicians.{{Cite news |last=Berke |first=Richard L. |date=2001-12-21 |title=3,241 Breakfasts Down, None to Go |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/21/us/3241-breakfasts-down-none-to-go.html |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Clines |first=Francis X. |date=1996-01-10 |title=At Breakfast With: Godfrey (Budge) Sperling Jr.;Politicians and the Press, Once Over |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/10/garden/at-breakfast-with-godfrey-budge-sperling-jr-politicians-and-the-press-once-over.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Cowan |first=Edward |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1981-10-16 |title=Godfrey's Breakfast: Politics and Eggs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/16/us/godfrey-s-breakfast-politics-and-eggs.html |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Raasch |first=Chuck |date=2001-12-23 |title=Capital, nation will miss substantive political discussion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/wausau-daily-herald-capital-nation-will/168096528/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=Wausau Daily Herald |pages=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Dart |first=Bob |date=1998-10-10 |title=Washington institution serves up eggs, muffins, news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-washington-institution-se/168096560/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |work=The Tennessean |pages=81}} For their first few years, the breakfasts were held at the National Press Club, and limited to twenty attendees;{{Cite web |date=1970-03-16 |title=The Press: Breakfast with Godfrey |url=https://time.com/archive/6842936/the-press-breakfast-with-godfrey/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=TIME |language=en}} later on they were often held at the Carlton Hotel.{{Cite web |last=Berke |first=Richard L. |date=2013-12-22 |title=Rick Berke on Godfrey Sperling (1915-2013) |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/godfrey-sperling-obituary-101425/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=POLITICO Magazine |language=en}}
= Later career and death =
Sperling retired from journalism in September 2005.{{Cite web |date=2005-09-09 |title=Longtime 'CSM' Columnist Godfrey Sperling Retires |url=https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/longtime-csm-columnist-godfrey-sperling-retires,114867 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Editor and Publisher |language=en}} He died on September 11, 2013.{{Cite web |last=Gold |first=Hadas |date=2013-09-11 |title=CS Monitor's Godfrey 'Budge' Sperling dies |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/09/cs-monitors-godfrey-budge-sperling-dies-172406 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}
Sperling's papers are held by the University of Illinois.{{Cite web |title=Godfrey Sperling, Jr. Papers, 1931-2011 {{!}} University of Illinois Archives |url=https://archon.library.illinois.edu/archives/?p=collections/controlcard&id=11047 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=University of Illinois Archives Holdings Database |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperling, Godfrey}}
Category:The Christian Science Monitor people
Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Category:People from Long Beach, California
Category:American newspaper reporters and correspondents