Nathan K. "Nick" Kotz (September 16, 1932 – April 26, 2020) was an American journalist, author, and historian. His most recent book, ''The Harness Makers Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas'', tells the story of Ukrainian immigrant Nathan Kallison's journey to the United States. He is best known for his 2005 book ''Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws that Changed America'' chronicling the roles of US President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

in the passage of the 1964, 1965, and 1968 civil rights laws. Kotz won a

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs in the United States. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting – National. Li ...

in 1968 for his reporting of unsanitary conditions in many meat packing plants, which helped ensure the passage of the

Wholesome Meat Act The Wholesome Meat Act (also called "Equal To" law) is a United States federal law passed by the 90th United States Congressional session and enacted into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson on December 15, 1967, amending the Federal ...

Life

Kotz was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. As a reporter for the ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

'' and the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and as a freelance writer, Nick Kotz won many of journalism's most important honors, including the

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

for Washington correspondence, the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, and the first

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

Memorial Award. His study of American military leadership won the

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for public service. His book ''Wild Blue Yonder: Money, Politics, and the B-1 Bomber'' won the Olive Branch Award. Kotz's other books include ''A Passion For Equality:

George Wiley George Alvin Wiley (February 26, 1931 – August 8, 1973) was an American chemist and civil rights leader. He was a founder of the National Welfare Rights Organization. Early life and education Wiley was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son o ...

and the Movement'' (with Mary Lynn Kotz); ''Let Them Eat Promises: The Politics of Hunger''; and ''The Unions'' (with

Haynes Johnson Haynes Bonner Johnson (July 9, 1931May 24, 2013) was an American journalist, author, and television analyst. He reported on most of the major news stories of the latter half of the 20th century and was widely regarded as one of the top American po ...

). A ''magna cum laude'' graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, Kotz did graduate study in international relations at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. After college, he served as a lieutenant in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Committed to education, he served as a distinguished adjunct professor at the

American University School of Communications The School of Communication (SOC) at American University is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The school offers six undergraduate majors: communication studies, journalism, public relations a ...

and as a Senior Journalist in Residence, for a semester, at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. He was married to Mary Lynn Kotz, a journalist and author of ''Rauschenberg: Art and Life''; and co-author of ''Upstairs at the White House: My Life With the First Ladies''. Their son, Jack Mitchell Kotz, is a photographer. Kotz died in April, 2020 as a result of an accident involving his automobile at his home.

Works

*''Let them eat promises: the politics of hunger in America'', Doubleday Anchor books, 1971 *''A Passion for Equality: George A. Wiley and the Movement'', W. W. Norton, Incorporated, 1977, *''Wild blue yonder: money, politics, and the B-1 bomber'', Pantheon Books, 1988, * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotz, Nick 1932 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics Dartmouth College alumni Military personnel from Texas Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners Road incident deaths in Virginia Writers from San Antonio United States Marine Corps officers