Biographical Note

Louis Isaac Jaffe was born to Philip and Lotta Kahn Jaffe in February of 1888. Jaffe was raised around Durham, North Carolina, attending Durham High School and Trinity College (later Duke University). He began his career as a newspaper writer and editor in college, later going to work for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He served in France during World War I and after the war, became the editor of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, the position he would hold until his death. During this lengthy term as editor, he had a reputation as a defender of civil liberties and a promotor of the arts. He helped write key elements of legislation against lynching in Virginia (passed in 1928). In 1920, Jaffe married Margaret Davis; the couple divorced in 1939. In the mid-1930s, Jaffe helped found the Norfolk branch of Virginia Union University (now Norfolk State University). In 1942, Jaffe married Alice Cohn Rice. In 1950, Jaffe suffered a heart attack and died. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia.

Additional information about Louis Jaffe can be found in his biograpihcal entry in the Encyclopedia Virginia online. Additional manuscript collections and papers created by or about Jaffe can be found at multiple archives in Virginia, including the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, and the College of William and Mary.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records: