Anthony Day was born in Miami, Florida, on May 12, 1933.^[2] His father, Price Day, worked as a foreign correspondent for The Baltimore Sun, earning a Pulitzer Prize in 1949, and was later editor-in-chief of the newspaper.^[2] Anthony Day had three younger brothers, all of whom also became journalists.^[2]

Day graduated from Harvard University in 1955. He served two years in the U.S. Army following graduation.^[2]

Day's career in journalism began at the Philadelphia Bulletin. He began working at the paper in 1957. He was eventually promoted to the paper's Washington D.C. bureau chief.^[2]

Day was hired by the Los Angeles Times as the chief editorial writer in 1969. He eventually rose to become the editorial page editor, a position he held from 1971 until 1989, when he relinquished his editorial responsibilities but continued with the Times as a correspondent until he retired in the mid-1990s.^[3] Day continued to work part-time for the Times as a contributor to the book review section after his official retirement. He also continued to edit a regular column by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.^[2]

On the day after Day's death, Kissinger said of him, "Although he was a constant critic of the policies of the administrations in which I served, I always considered him a critic of exemplary fairness, ability and honesty."^[3]

Day died of emphysema on September 2, 2007, at St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was survived by his wife, Lynn, and son, John.^[2]

• "Anthony Day, pivotal editorial page editor of The Times, dies at 74". Los Angeles Times
• "Tony Day, RIP". Los Angeles Times Opinion L.A.