Joseph Pulitzer III (May 13, 1913 – May 26, 1993) was an American newspaperman and publisher of the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

'' for 38 years. A grandson of the famous newsman

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

, for 31 years he chaired the board which was responsible for awarding the Pulitzer Prize, and from 1955 to 1993 was chairman of the

Pulitzer Publishing Company Pulitzer, Inc. was an American media company who owned newspapers, television stations and radio stations across the United States. Founded by Joseph Pulitzer (who also funded the Pulitzer Prizes, which are not affiliated with the company), its p ...

Biography

Born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

on May 13, 1913, he was baptized in the Episcopal Church as Joseph Pulitzer III, but later adopted the junior designation (his father had dropped the junior designation after the death of his father). A graduate of the St. Mark's School and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, Pulitzer ran the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' through the social and political challenges of the 20th century while holding fast to the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

vision set out by his grandfather in 1907. His paper was among the first to oppose the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. He served as chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Board at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for 31 years and was the last member of the Pulitzer family to directly participate in the Prize process to date. Along with Columbia University president William J. McGill and Pulitzer Prize administrator John Hohenberg, he oversaw its transition from an advisory group under the aegis of the Columbia trustees to the principal award-granting body in 1975. The board, which had been established by his grandfather's will, is responsible for selecting the coveted annual prizes in journalism, books, drama and music. In 1993, he received an honorary doctorate of laws degree from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. In addition to his reputation as a newsman, Pulitzer was also known for his collection of contemporary art, regarded as one of the largest and finest in the world. In 2008, his second wife, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, gave a gift of 31 major works of modern and contemporary art and $45 million to the

Harvard Art Museum The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

. In announcing the gift, the museum also announced that between 1953 and 2005 it had received gifts of 43 other modern and contemporary works from Pulitzer and his first wife, Louise Vauclain Pulitzer, who died in 1968, and from Pulitzer and his second wife. Pulitzer died at his home in the Central West End of St. Louis from colon cancer. He was 80.

References

Sources

External links

*Dennis Barrie

January 11, 1978 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulitzer, Joseph Jr. 1913 births 1993 deaths American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American newspaper publishers (people) Harvard University alumni St. Louis Post-Dispatch people St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni Joseph Jr.

Biography

See also

Further reading

References

Sources

External links