Walter K. Schwinn was born in 1901 in Red Oak, Iowa. He graduated from University of Wisconsin and Harvard University respectively before working as a staff reporter for the Manchester, New Hampshire, Union. That was quickly followed up with a stint at the Springfield Union as an editorial writer, before arriving in Hartford in 1929 to become the chief editorial writer and associate editor until 1943. Schwinn was tremendously active in the city and supported the Hartford School of Music, the Travelers Aid Society, and the Tuberculosis and Public Health Society, among others. After serving in World War II, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom. He ultimately retired from foreign service in 1961 except for a brief recall in 1965 to direct an exhibition of graphic arts in Poland sponsored by the U.S. government. As he settled into retirement in Hartford he became a member of the board for the Hartford Art School, and a regent of the University of Hartford. He served as President for five years of the Mark Twain Memorial and authored an unpublished history of the house.