Charles Griffith Ross (November 9, 1885 – December 5, 1950) was

White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...

between 1945 and 1950 for President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

Early life

Ross graduated with Truman and Truman's eventual wife

Bess Truman Elizabeth Virginia Truman (; February 13, 1885October 18, 1982) was First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953 as the wife of President Harry S. Truman. She had previously served as Second Lady of the United States from January to April ...

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

from Independence High School (now known as

William Chrisman High School William Chrisman High School is a high school located in Independence, Missouri, United States, as part of the Independence School District. History The school was founded in 1888 and was known as Independence High School. The first building ...

), class of 1901. He was initiated into the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity and graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

in 1905. In 1908, he became the first professor of the newly formed

Missouri School of Journalism The Missouri School of Journalism, housed under the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, Columbia, is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in of journalis ...

Pulitzer Prize

In 1918, he became the Chief Washington correspondent for the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a 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-Democra ...

''. He won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for his article titled, " The Country's Plight—What Can Be Done About It?", a discussion of the economic situation of the United States. In 1934, he became the editorial page editor for the ''Post-Dispatch'' and then in 1939 became a contributing editor for the paper.

White House Press Secretary

In 1945, Truman asked Ross to become his Press Secretary. Despite his long-standing personal relationship with Truman, Ross gained a reputation for trustworthiness since reporters knew he spoke for the president both on and off the record. Very few reporters felt Ross led them astray either.National Archives biography
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Death

Ross died of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...

at his desk in the White House in December 1950 after giving a press conference as he was preparing to make some comments to the television news. He was buried in Washington's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Family

His widow, Florence Griffin, married ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' editor Roy A. Roberts in 1953.

References

External links

Truman Library biography
* 1885 births 1950 deaths American male journalists Editors of Missouri newspapers Journalists from Missouri Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence winners Truman administration personnel University of Missouri alumni University of Missouri faculty White House press secretaries William Chrisman High School alumni Writers from Independence, Missouri Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) {{US-journalist-19thC-stub