SHEARER, GORDON KENT (1880-1971). Gordon Kent Shearer, newspaperman, was born on January 3, 1880, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Pennsylvania, where he attended the public schools and apparently studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He worked for the Philadelphia Times in 1898. He came to Texas in 1900 and worked for the Austin Statesman. On May 2, 1903, he married Rebecca Pugh in New York City; they had two sons. The couple moved to Galveston, where Shearer worked for the Galveston News. He later worked on other newspapers, including the Dallas Morning News, the San Antonio Express, and the El Paso Herald Post. He also published the Harlingen Star at one time. Shearer became the Capitol correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, but he was perhaps best known for his service as bureau chief for the United Press in Austin. He opened that office in 1927 and worked there for twenty years. His column, "Under the Dome," became a popular political feature. Walter Cronkite, well-known national television newsman, worked under Shearer and credited much of his early journalistic training to him. Shearer retired from newspaper work on December 31, 1947. The next year he became executive secretary of the State Parks Board. He was historian and research director for that board until he retired in 1961. Shearer died on May 31, 1971, in Austin and was buried in Austin Memorial Park. He was survived by one son.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Austin American, June 1, 1971. Austin History Center Files. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.