Merrill Rogers

Merrill Rogers (27 May 1892 — 8 November 1964) was an American author, playwright, United States government official, business manager, advertising executive, and magazine editor. He first drew attention as the business manager of the socialist periodical The Masses which became embroiled in two highly publicized court trials in 1918 for alleged violations of the Espionage Act. Rogers, along with other employees of the periodical, were criminally charged by the United States government but neither trial resulted in any convictions. Beginning in 1916, he worked on the editing staff of the American magazine The Dial, and later served on the managing board of that magazine when it was taken over by Scofield Thayer in 1918.

After leaving The Dial, Rogers joined the advertising firm of Calkins and Holden where by 1931 he worked as a copy director. He also worked as a freelance writer of plays for radio and the stage. Two of his plays were staged on Broadway, and one was adapted into a film. During World War II, he moved to Washington, D.C., to join the staff of the War Manpower Commission as the senior speechwriter for Paul V. McNutt. After the war, he worked for the Federal Security Agency as a special assistant to Oscar R. Ewing. He ended his career working for the United States Department of Health and Human Services as a member of the staff of the Committee on Aging. He was married to the American suffragette Joy Young Rogers.