Walter M. Yust (May 16, 1894 – February 29, 1960) was an American journalist and writer. Yust was the American

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' from 1938 to 1960."Walter Yust."
Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. January 14, 2009.

Early life

Yust was a graduate of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Career

Yust began his career as a writer for the ''Philadelphia Evening Ledger'' in 1917 and later worked for newspapers in New Orleans, Louisiana, and for other publications. Yust became literary editor of the '' Philadelphia Public Ledger'' in 1926. Three years later, upon writing a review of the new 14th edition of the ''

'', Yust came to the attention of its president, William Cox. The following year Yust began to work for the encyclopaedia and became its associate editor in 1932. He served as editor in chief from 1938 until his retirement in 1960.

Personal life

He was the father of Jane Yust Rivera and filmmaker Larry Yust, who made a 20-minute film, in 1969, for

Encyclopædia Britannica Films Encyclopædia Britannica Films (also named EB Films for short) was the top producer and distributor of Educational film, educational 16 mm films and later VHS videocassettes for schools and libraries from the 1940s through the 1990s (by which ...

, of

Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Her writing career spanned over two decades, during which she composed six novels, two memoirs, and mor ...

s "

The Lottery "The Lottery" is a short story by Shirley Jackson that was first published in ''The New Yorker'' on June 26, 1948. The story describes a fictional small American community that observes an annual tradition known as "the lottery", which is int ...

", later, Trick Baby (1972), and Homebodies (1974). Yust died in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, at the age of 65 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Works

References

1894 births 1960 deaths Encyclopædia Britannica Writers from Philadelphia American print editors 20th-century American male writers {{US-editor-stub