Jack Limpert was editor of The Washingtonian magazine from 1969 to 2009—he now is a writer-at-large. He was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, served in the U.S. Air Force, received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin, and for a year attended the Stanford University Law School.
He started in journalism in 1960 with United Press International, working in Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Detroit. In 1964 he became editor of the Warren (Michigan) Progress, and then became editor of the San Jose (California) Sunpapers. In 1967 he went to Washington, D.C., to start a weekly newspaper, the Washington Examiner.
In 1968 he was a Congressional Fellow in the office of Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and traveled extensively in the Humphrey-Nixon presidential campaign. After finishing the fellowship, he joined the staff of The Washingtonian.
As a writer, he won an American Political Science Association award for distinguished reporting in public affairs. As an editor, he has received the Distinguished Service in Local Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and during his tenure The Washingtonian won five National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors. He also won an Emmy for his contributions to the HBO movie Something the Lord Made. He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the City and Regional Magazine Association, and he has been inducted into the Washington Journalists Hall of Fame.
He is married to Jean Limpert, a pharmacist, and they have two daughters: Ann is the wine and food editor of The Washingtonian, and Jeannie is a physician at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
