Robert B. Luce, a former editor and publisher of The New Republic who founded his own book publishing house, died Nov. 29 in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 83.
He died in a nursing home, his family said.
Mr. Luce began his career working for magazines, taking over at The New Republic in 1963.
In the early 1960s, he also founded his own general-interest book publishing house, Robert B. Luce Inc., the first of its kind in Washington.
Mr. Luce left The New Republic in 1966, sold his publishing house and returned to New York City, eventually working for Time-Life Books as director of editorial planning. His family said he was only distantly related to Time-Life founder Henry R. Luce.
He moved from New York and began teaching journalism in 1997 at Florida Atlantic University, which he left in 2001.
Mr. Luce was born in Grosse Pointe, Mich., and graduated from Antioch College in Ohio with a degree in economics.
