Godfrey Sperling

Godfrey Sperling Jr. (September 25, 1915 – September 11, 2013) was an American journalist for The Christian Science Monitor. Sperling was best known for running breakfasts in Washington, D.C. that journalists and politicians frequented.^[1][2]

Biography

Godfrey Sperling Jr. was born in Long Beach, California, on September 25, 1915.^[3] His father was one of Idaho's first civil engineers.^[4] He grew up in Urbana, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a child he was often referred to by the nickname "Budge", which would stick for the rest of his life. Sperling began working for The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) in 1946.^[3]

Sperling was also a member of the Gridiron Club.^[5]

Breakfasts

From 1966 to 2001, Sperling hosted 3,241 breakfasts in Washington, D.C. which were attended by journalists and politicians.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} For their first few years, the breakfasts were held at the National Press Club, and limited to twenty attendees;^[11] later on they were often held at the Carlton Hotel.^[2]

Later career and death

Sperling retired from journalism in September 2005.^[12] He died on September 11, 2013.^[3][13]

Sperling's papers are held by the University of Illinois.^[14]