William La Varre

Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1898, William J. LaVarre was an American geographer, explorer, journalist, and author. Early in life he studied in New York and later at Columbia University Extension and as a special student at Harvard, and he published Up the Mazaruni for Diamonds in 1919.

From the 1920s into the 1930s, he was closely associated with South America, working as an explorer and later as a foreign correspondent. His books include Southward Ho! A Treasure Hunter in South America and other travel- and politics-related works shaped by firsthand experience in the region.

Archival records also show a long career that reached into publishing and editorial work, including time connected with The American Mercury. Sources consistently describe him as a restless, wide-ranging figure whose writing blended adventure, observation, and strong political views.