Researching John Starr

Starr was wounded and captured by the German SS on 18 July 1943 and imprisoned for the remainder of the war. After World War II, Starr was accused by several other SOE agents of collaboration with the Germans while he was a captive. John Starr's brother George Starr was also an SOE agent.

John Robert Starr wrote sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and founded the Pine Bluff Star-Reporter at Pine Bluff, Arkansas before being hired by the Associated Press in 1957. Starr worked for the AP for nineteen years, which included ten years as the Little Rock bureau chief.

Starr served as bureau chief during the controversial period under Governor Orval Faubus and was responsible for reporting the social changes sweeping the state during the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the critical Little Rock Crisis of 1957-58. Starr left the AP in 1976 and taught journalism for two years.

John Robert Starr became managing editor of the Arkansas Democrat in 1978. He was hired by publisher Walter E. Hussman, Jr., who intended to take on the rival Arkansas Gazette, which was the state's premier newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper west of the Mississippi River.

Soon after his arrival at the Democrat, he posed for the Arkansas Times May 1979 magazine cover with a helmet on his head and with a knife clenched between his teeth squatting atop a Gazette newspaper rack. Hussman seriously considered firing Starr for this unnaproved action but in the end only reprimanded him. Nevertheless, this photo set the tone for the bitter newspaper war that followed and foreshadowed that the battle was "to the death".

Starr was the field general for the Democrat during the 13-year-long newspaper war and wrote scathing commentaries about the Gazette on the editorial pages of the Democrat. The Democrat adopted a free classified ad program and switched from an afternoon to a morning paper in order to compete directly with the Gazette. The Gazette underwent a long decline and was passed through several owners before being purchased by Hussman in 1991 and folded into the Democrat operation to form the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Starr played a major role in the passage of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act which was praised as a model sunshine law at the time of its passage.

Starr stepped down as managing editor in 1992. He continued to write a daily column through the late 1990s when he reduced his output to three days a week. During this time, Starr was very critical of Bill Clinton in his columns. Starr had supported Clinton during his early years as Governor of Arkansas but became very critical after Starr claimed that Clinton had lied to him about a story.

During Clinton's election bids, Starr often made appearances on national political programs to comment about his experiences covering Clinton during his Arkansas years. Starr's last columns focused on calling for the resignation of Arkansas Razorbacks basketball coach Nolan Richardson.Later when Starr was in the hospital after heart surgery, Richardson sent him flowers. This completely changed the way Starr wrote about Richardson from then on.

John Robert Starr died of a heart attack while on vacation at Del Norte, Colorado. His son is Robert "Rusty" Starr who is publisher of the Palatka Daily News in Palatka, Florida.

He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of John Starr and Desiah Gore. In 1823, he entered the family business of importing and exporting goods. Also in that year, Starr married Maria Sophia Ratchford. After the death of his father in 1827, he took over the operation of the business. He became magistrate for Halifax and lieutenant-colonel in the local militia. Starr was also involved in the temperance movement. In 1830, he married Frances Throckmorton after the death of his first wife. In 1831, the family business was dissolved to pay for his father's debts. Starr then entered business as an insurance broker. He was also a director of the Bank of British North America, president of the Halifax Gas Light and Water Company and a director of the Bay of Fundy Steam Navigation Company. He employed as a clerk the young Joseph Salter. Starr served as aide-de-camp for two Nova Scotia lieutenant governors and was a master in the Masonic order. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1826 and 1836. In 1840, he was named to the province's Legislative Council. He was elected to Halifax city council in 1841. Following a downturn in the economy, Starr was forced into bankruptcy. In 1844, he moved to New York City, where he continued as an insurance broker. He died there in 1885.

He was born at Starr's Point, Nova Scotia, the son of David Starr and Susannah Potter. After learning the trade of blacksmith, he moved to Halifax, where he became a merchant and ship owner, operating an import-export business. In 1797, he married Desiah Gore. In 1824, Starr became colonel in the Halifax militia. He was also a magistrate. He died in office in 1827.

His daughter Margaret Sophia married James Ratchford, who served in the province's legislative council. His son John Leander Starr also served in the legislative council and married Mary Sophia Ratchford, James' sister.

A 1922 graduate of Springfield College, he came to Colgate in 1926 from Greenville, South Carolina, where he had been director of health & physical education and basketball coach. At Colgate, he was an assistant professor of physical education, 1926-1934; associate professor, 1934–1946, and a full professor, 1946–1965. He instituted the first intramural athletic programs at Colgate in 1934. He was Coach of Swimming, 1926–1932 (coached first swimming team, to represent the university); coach of ice hockey, 1932–1950 (two undefeated seasons), and coach of gymnastics, 1928–1932. In 1965 at time of retirement, the ice rink was named Starr Rink.

When he retired, he took a position at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and helped oversee the development and operation of their new ice skating arena at the behest of then university president Jerome. During that period, he mentored a number of young skaters, including Scott Hamilton.

His professional memberships included:*Colgate Eta chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (President, 1955).*Board of directors, Sigma Delta Psi (National Athletic Fraternity)*NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee, 6 years: chairman 1950–51.*Charter and Life Member American Ice Hockey Coaches Association*Charter member, College Intramurals Directors Association.*Member, Hamilton Masonic Lodge #120 and Cyrus Chapter 50 R.A.M.*Member, First Baptist Church, Hamilton, N.Y.*Member, board of directors, Community Memorial Hospital, 1955–1965.*Chairman, Hamilton, N.Y. Recreation Commission for 8 years.

He served nine months with the infantry in World War I. In 1942 he again enlisted in the military despite being over the required age. Concerned that he would be assigned stateside in a training capacity, he deliberately flunked his swimming test in order to avoid being selected as an instructor. A fellow college swimming coach was giving the test and, recognizing him floundering in the water, asked what he was up to; Starr got him to promise not to give him away. He was commissioned a captain in the Army Air Force in June 1942 and was assigned to the 8th Air Force in England in August 1942. He was part of a secret Military Intelligence Service unit known as MIS-X. The records of this unit remain classified to this date. For part of his service he was assigned as War Department Liaison Officer to British Intelligence Service units MI-5, MI-9, and MI-19. King George VI awarded him the Order of the British Empire Medal (OBE) for his service in 1945. He completed his military service as a lieutenant colonel, assigned as commanding officer (MIS-X), Fort Hunt, Virginia in 1945.