Otto Fuerbringer, Time magazine's managing editor during the turbulent 1960s, when it famously asked Is God Dead? on the cover, died at the age of 97 on Monday.

He held Time's top editorial position for eight years and was the last managing editor hired by founder, Henry R Luce, who died in 1967.

"He was a conservative and hard-driving," his son Jonathan said.

Under Fuerbringer's direction, the magazine tackled culture wars with cover stories on the birth control pill, the sexual revolution and so on.

Fuerbringer broke with Time's tradition by hiring well-known artists to produce portraits for the cover.

Time had long supported the Vietnam War, but in 1968 Fuerbringer wrote that it could not be won.

He wrote more than 30 cover stories for Time and became managing editor in 1960.

During Fuerbringer's tenure, the magazine's circulation rose from 3 million to 5 million.

"He was the ideal editor. He was tough, but fair-minded, generous to a fault and always open to new ideas," said Frederic Golden, hired by Fuerbringer.