{{Infobox person
| name=Jesse Dale Thorn
(Louisiana journalist and academic; <br> Press Secretary secretary to Governor Edwin Edwards)
|birth_date=October 7, 1942
| birth_place=Brandon, Rankin County,<br> [[Mississippi]], USA<br>
'''Jesse Dale Thorn''', usually known as '''Dale Thorn''' or as '''J. Dale Thorn''' (October 7, 1942 – May 8, 2014), was a [[journalist]] and [[professor]] at [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]], who was the first press secretary to [[Edwin Edwards]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/news/obituaries/article_b22754d4-db73-11e3-ac47-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Obituary of Dr. Jesse Dale Thorn|date=May 14, 2014|publisher=''The Ouachita Citizen''|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref> a [[U.S. Representative]] and [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] who served as [[governor]] for four nonconsecutive terms.
==Background==A native of Brandon in [[Brandon, Mississippi|Brandonsuburb]] in [[an Rankin County, Mississippi|Rankin County]], [[Mississippi]], Thorn was w born toas the younger of two sons of the Reverend James B. Thorn (1909-1979) and the former Ola Reid (1914-2001), who are interred at Lynn Cemetery in Archibald in Richland Parish, Louisiana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32299098/ola-r_-thorn|title=Ola R. Thorn|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=July 3, 2020}}</ref> Thorn was reared in West Monroe, Louisiana, and graduated in 1960 from Ouachita Parish High School in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classmates.com/people/DaleThorn/116412641|title=Dale Thorn (Class of 1960)|publisher=classmates.com|accessdate=May 17, 2014}}</ref>
==Career==