Edwin Milton Yoder Jr. (July 18, 1934 – November 30, 2023) was an American journalist and

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winner.

Life and career

Edwin Milton Yoder Jr. was born on July 18, 1934. He was educated at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, graduating in English in 1956. Yoder then won a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, and studied

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

from 1956 to 1958. While at Oxford, Yoder was a member of the Oxford University basketball team with teammates

Willie Morris William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1934 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Morris had a lyrical prose style which he lent to reflections on the American ...

and

Paul Sarbanes Paul Spyros Sarbanes (; February 3, 1933 – December 6, 2020) was an American politician and attorney from Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congr ...

. He was then an editorial writer for various newspapers including the '' Charlotte News'', the '' Greensboro Daily News'' and the ''

Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...

''. During his time at the ''Washington Star'', he won the

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, ...

in 1979. He was a columnist on ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' from 1982. In 1992, he was appointed Professor of Humanities at

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

. He was elected to an Honorary

Fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

of Jesus College, Oxford, in 1998. He died in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

, on November 30, 2023, at the age of 89.Edwin Yoder, Pulitzer-winning editorial writer, columnist, dies at 89

Publications

*''The Night of the Old South Ball, and Other Essays and Fables'', Oxford, 1984. *''The Unmaking of a Whig and Other Essays in Self-Definition'', Georgetown University Press, 1990. *''Joe Alsop's Cold War: A Study of Journalistic Influence and Intrigue,'' U. of NC Press, 1995. *''The Historical Present: Uses and Abuses of the Past,'' UP of Mississippi, 1997. *"Blackmail"—winner of Andrew Lytle 2002 Prize in Fiction in the ''Sewanee Review,'' fall 2002. *''Telling Others What To Think: Recollections of a Pundit,'' LSU Press, 2004. *''Lions at Lamb House,'' Europa Editions, 2007.

References

External links

* * * 1934 births 2023 deaths University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing winners Washington and Lee University faculty American Rhodes Scholars The Washington Star people 20th-century American journalists American male journalists {{US-journalist-1930s-stub