Ralph Warren Cram was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1869, son of prominent surgeon Dr. Charles E. and Clarissa (Deming) Cram. In 1883 he began his newspaper career as a printer's devil with the Davenport (Iowa) Daily Davenport Democrat (later the Democrat and Leader; now the Quad City Times), a newspaper to which he dedicated his life. After being a reporter, city editor, and managing editor, in 1930 he became editor and publisher, a position he held until his retirement in 1940. Cram was an acknowledged political analyst, and his editorials reflected life not only in Davenport, but in the state and nation as a whole. An authority on aviation and an avid pilot, Cram began flying in 1919. On 11 November 1928 (Armistice Day), Cram Field Davenport Municipal Airport was dedicated in his honor, and in 1934 he was appointed state director in charge of airport improvement in Iowa. He was a charter member of the National Aeronautic Association in 1922, and was also a sponsor of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association. Cram was a frequent contributor to aeronautic magazines and the author of "Soloing at Sixty-two." He wrote the story of his life in seventy-eight chapters, published serially in the Democrat and Leader, 1937-1939. Cram was married to Mabel Laventure in 1892, and a devoted father to their six children, who included prominent parasitologist Eloise Blaine Cram (1896-1957) and aviation engineer Ralph LaVenture Cram (1906-1939), killed during a test flight of the first Boeing 307 Stratoliner. He was also a distant cousin of influential American architect Ralph Adams Cram.
Ralph Warren Cram was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1869, son of prominent surgeon Dr. Charles E. and Clarissa (Deming) Cram. In 1883 he began his newspaper career as a printer's devil with the Davenport (Iowa) Daily Davenport Democrat (later the Democrat and Leader; now the Quad City Times), a newspaper to which he dedicated his life. After being a reporter, city editor, and managing editor, in 1930 he became editor and publisher, a position he held until his retirement in 1940. Cram was an acknowledged political analyst, and his editorials reflected life not only in Davenport, but in the state and nation as a whole. An authority on aviation and an avid pilot, Cram began flying in 1919. On 11 November 1928 (Armistice Day), Cram Field Davenport Municipal Airport was dedicated in his honor, and in 1934 he was appointed state director in charge of airport improvement in Iowa. He was a charter member of the National Aeronautic Association in 1922, and was also a sponsor of the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association. Cram was a frequent contributor to aeronautic magazines and the author of "Soloing at Sixty-two." He wrote the story of his life in seventy-eight chapters, published serially in the Democrat and Leader, 1937-1939. Cram was married to Mabel Laventure in 1892, and a devoted father to their six children, who included prominent parasitologist Eloise Blaine Cram (1896-1957) and aviation engineer Ralph LaVenture Cram (1906-1939), killed during a test flight of the first Boeing 307 Stratoliner. He was also a distant cousin of influential American architect Ralph Adams Cram.
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