Ralph Pulitzer (June 11, 1879 – June 14, 1939) was an American heir, newspaper publisher and author. He served as the president of the
Press Publishing Co., which published the ''
New York World
The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...
'' and the ''
Evening World''.
Early life
Ralph Pulitzer was born on June 11, 1879, in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
, Missouri.
He was the son of Katherine "Kate" (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Davis) Pulitzer and
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...
, the newspaper magnate.
His mother was rumored to be a distant relative of
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as ...
, former president of the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confede ...
.
Pulitzer was educated at
St. Mark's School in
Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps, though ...
. He graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
.
Career
Pulitzer served as the publisher of the ''New York World'' until 1931, when it was acquired by
E. W. Scripps Company.
He subsequently served as the vice president of the Pulitzer Publishing Company, which published the ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major 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-Dem ...
''.
Pulitzer was the author of two books. His first book, entitled ''New York Society on Parade'', was published in 1910.
His second book, entitled ''Over the Front in an Aeroplane and scenes inside the French and Flemish Trenches'', was published in 1915; it was about
World War I.
His book contains descriptions of life in the trenches and the artillery used by the French in the early months of the War. It also includes sixteen photographs taken during his tour of several locations on the Front.
Pulitzer was an active supporter of the
National Air Races
The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...
. He sponsored the
Pulitzer Trophy Race
The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...
to encourage higher speed in landplanes. He was also a big-game hunter.
Personal life and death
Pulitzer was married twice. On October 14, 1905, he married
Frederica Vanderbilt Webb (1882–1949),
the daughter of
and
William Seward Webb
William Seward Webb (January 31, 1851 – October 29, 1926) was a businessman, and inspector general of the Vermont militia with the rank of colonel. He was a founder and former president of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Early life
Webb ...
.
Before their divorce in Paris, France in 1924, they were the parents of two sons:
* Ralph Pulitzer Jr. (1906–1965), who married Bess Aspinwall.
* Seward Webb Pulitzer (1911–1972),
who married Billie Boldemann in March 1932.
Four months after their divorce, Frederica married Cyril Hamlen Jones,
later headmaster of
Milton Academy
Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...
in
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...
, and the former tutor to Pulitzer's two sons during the winter of 1921 to 1922.
In 1928, Ralph Pulitzer married
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely followi ...
graduate
Margaret Kernochan Leech,
who, after his death, received two
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had ma ...
s for her own work.
One of his daughters by his second marriage died of infantile paralysis, or
poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...
, in France before her first birthday.
[The Pulitzer Prize archives](_blank)
/ref> The other was:
* Susan Pulitzer (1932–1965), who married Sydney J. Freedberg in April 1954.
Pulitzer died during an abdominal operation on June 14, 1939, at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. His funeral was held at St. Thomas Protestant Episcopal Church. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Bronx. His widow died at her home, 812 Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Har ...
, on February 24, 1974.
Works
*
*
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulitzer, Ralph
1879 births
1939 deaths
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Businesspeople from St. Louis
Businesspeople from New York City
St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni
Harvard University alumni
Ralph
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
American non-fiction writers
Writers from New York City
Writers from St. Louis