Nan C. Robertson (July 11, 1926 – October 13, 2009) was an American journalist, author and instructor in journalism. Her awards included a
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1979 for a distinguished example of feature writing giving prime consideration to high liter ...
.
Five decades in journalism
Born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Robertson attended
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, where she was a member of
Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members.
Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fo ...
sorority until she graduated in 1948. She traveled to Europe and was a reporter for ''
Stars and Stripes'' in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(1948–49) and a fashion publicist in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
(1950). From 1951 to 1953, she was a correspondent in Germany for the ''
Milwaukee Journal
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
'' and a feature writer and columnist — based in Paris,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
— for the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' from 1952 to 1953. Robertson also reported for the London ''American Daily'' from 1953 to 1954.
Robertson joined the staff of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 1955, beginning as a general assignment reporter for the city desk and women's news.
From 1963 to 1972, Robertson was a
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
correspondent, focusing on the White House, Congress, presidential campaigns and voting and campus political trends across the United States. From 1972 to 1975, she was based in Paris, covering France, neighboring countries and the
Turkish invasion of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. From 1975 to 1982, Robertson reported for the Living and Style sections.
In 1983, Robertson won the
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1979 for a distinguished example of feature writing giving prime consideration to high liter ...
for her medically detailed account of her struggle with
toxic shock syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a condition caused by bacterial toxins. Symptoms may include fever, rash, skin peeling, and low blood pressure. There may also be symptoms related to the specific underlying infection such as mastitis, osteomyeli ...
, a cover story for ''The New York Times Magazine'' that at that time became the most widely syndicated article in ''Times'' history.
She formally retired from the ''Times'' in 1988 (serving her last five years as a reporter on the cultural news desk), but continued to write for the paper until 1996.
In 1994, Robertson became the first Eugene L. Roberts Visiting Professor of Journalism at the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
.
She died in
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
, at the age of 83.
Associated Press
/ref>
Other awards
In addition to her Pulitzer Prize, Robertson is a recipient of the following:
* 1962 - Newswomen's Club of New York - Feature Writing Award
* 1980 - Newswomen's Club of New York - Best Feature Front Page Award The Front Page Award is an award given by the Newswomen's Club of New York The Newswomen's Club of New York is a nonprofit organization that focuses on women working in the media in the New York City metropolitan area. Founded in 1922 as the New Yor ...
* 1981 and 1983 - Fellowship at the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...
* 1982 - Newswomen's Club of New York - Special Award for Excellence for "Toxic Shock"
* 1983 - Newspaper Guild of New York - Page One Award
* 1983 - Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship
* 1991 - Northwestern University Alumnae Award
* 1992 - Northwestern University - honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters
* 1993 - International Women's Media Foundation - Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2009 - Washington Press Club - Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2009 - Foremother Award from the National Center for Health Research
The National Center for Health Research (formerly known as the National Research Center for Women & Families) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization founded in 1999, providing health-related services such as providing free informatio ...
Publications
*
*
References
External links
Recent and archived news articles by Nan Robertson of ''The New York Times''
*
Papers of Nan Robertson, 1920-2004.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Nan C.
1926 births
2009 deaths
Writers from Chicago
Northwestern University alumni
20th-century American women writers
American women journalists
New York Herald Tribune people
The New York Times writers
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing winners
21st-century American women