C. E. (Charles Edward) Montague

Born in London on January 1, 1867, Charles Edward Montague was educated at the City of London School and Balliol College, Oxford. He joined the Manchester Guardian in 1890 and built a strong reputation there as a leader writer, critic, and journalist.

Montague is especially remembered for his writing about World War I. Though older than many recruits, he found a way to serve, and his wartime experience later shaped Disenchantment, a powerful account of the gap between patriotic language and the reality of war.

He also wrote novels and essays marked by intelligence, irony, and a steady moral seriousness. He died in 1928, but his work still stands out for its honesty and its refusal to look away from uncomfortable truths.