Kantor, MacKinlay

The author and journalist MacKinlay Kantor was born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor in Webster City, Iowa. His father, John Martin Kantor, a Swedish immigrant, did not stay long in any job and his marriage was a disaster. He abandoned his family when his son was born and from then on all contact with his two children ceased. Benjamin grew up with his mother, Effie McKinlay Kantor, at her parents' house and changed his first name to MacKinlay when he was still young. His mother was the editor of the local newspaper to which Benjamin began to contribute in his teens.