William Wallace Price (November 11, 1867 - October 24, 1931) was one of the first journalists to cover the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

on a full-time basis and the first to write a column devoted to the White House. He was the first president of the

White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

. He was responsible for the creation of the White House Press Room.

Biography

William Wallace Price was born on November 11, 1867, in

Dahlonega, Georgia The city of Dahlonega () is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of ...

to James Madison Price and Margaret Eliza Land. He married Minnie Allston North and they had four daughters. He moved to

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

in 1895 and joined the staff of the ''

Washington Evening 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 Star ...

''. He was the first newsman to wait outside of the White House to interview people after their meetings with the president, rather than meeting those people at their hotels or offices later in the day. This way he was able to get scoops and have multiple beats.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

saw him standing in the rain on a cold day and arranged for a small room to be provided for him inside the White House. That was the start of the White House Press Room. In 1914 he became the first president of the

. In 1917 he became the chief

editorial writer An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

for ''

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''. In 1920 he was replaced as president of the White House Correspondents' Association by Frank R. Lamb. He died on October 24, 1931, at Emergency Hospital in Washington, DC, following an operation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, William Wallace 1867 births 1931 deaths American male journalists People from Dahlonega, Georgia