Paul Hume

Born in Chicago in 1915, Paul Chandler Hume built a wide-ranging career as a music critic, educator, performer, and author. He specialized in classical music and became a major presence in Washington cultural life.

He served as the music editor of The Washington Post from 1946 to 1982, and he was also known for teaching music history at Georgetown University and for his work in radio and choral music. His name is still widely remembered for a 1950 review of Margaret Truman's singing that led to an angry letter from President Truman, a moment that fixed Hume in the public imagination as an independent critic.

Hume died in 2001. Remembered for his deep knowledge, strong opinions, and long commitment to musical life in the nation's capital, he left behind a reputation as one of the best-known American classical music critics of his era.