Edward A. Harris
Edward Arnold Harris (October 20, 1910, in St. Louis, Missouri – March 14, 1976, in Front Royal, Virginia)[1][2] was an American journalist. He was a longtime reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1946.[3]
Edward Arnold Harris | |
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| Born | October 20, 1910 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Died | March 14, 1976 (aged 65) Front Royal, Virginia |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Master of Arts |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Subject | National and local politics |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting 1946 |
| Spouse | Miriam Sima Levy (m. 1938) |
| Children | Linda Gail, Mark Geoffrey, Robert Nathaniel |
Early life and education
Harris was born in St. Louis, the son of Nathan Harris and Rose (Goldman) Harris. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an A.B. Degree in 1933.[1]
He later earned a master's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Career
St. Louis and Washington
From 1931 to 1933, while he was still a student, Harris served as campus correspondent for the St. Louis Star-Times. After graduating from university, he became a general reporter and columnist for that newspaper, working there until 1940.
Between 1936 and 1943, he also served as the St. Louis correspondent for the TimeLife publications, Time magazine, Life magazine, and Fortune magazine.
In 1940 he became a City Hall reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. From 1940 to 1943, he was a rewrite specialist, reporter, and local political writer for that newspaper. In 1943, he was assigned to the newspaper's Washington bureau, from which he covered the White House, Congress, presidential elections, and national political conventions. He also focused on civil liberties and corruption. He continued to work in the Washington bureau until 1954.[1]
An account of the Truman presidency notes that at a presidential press conference, Harris "almost had his head taken off by Truman for asking whether the president and General MacArthur were finally in agreement over Formosa." Truman replied to Harris: "Let me tell you something that will be good for your soul....It's a pity that you columnists and reporters...can't understand the ideas of two intellectually honest men when they meet." Stating that MacArthur was loyal to both the government and president, Truman added that he wished "a lot of your papers" were loyal in the same way.[4]
Pauley case
When President Truman appointed Edwin W. Pauley, an oilman and former Democratic Party treasurer, to be Undersecretary of the Navy in 1946, Pauley's effort to prevent government control of tidewater oil reserves by offering a substantial contribution to the party was uncovered in a series of articles by Harris. The revelations turned the public against the appointment, led Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes to resign in protest against the appointment, and made Pauley's confirmation impossible. The articles won Harris the Pulitzer Prize.[3]
After Washington
After leaving Washington, Harris served as chief of the Post-Dispatch's West Coast bureau.[5] In 1957, he took a leave of absence to study for an M.S. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.[1]
In 1959, according to his New York Times obituary, Harris "left journalism to enter the real estate business in Virginia." In the same year, he bought Hidden Valley Farm, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.[2] From that date on, he was a working farmer. Between 1960 and 1963 he also wrote a weekly syndicated agricultural column entitled "Down on the Farm." One source states that he was president of Edward A. Harris & Associates from 1963 to 1976.[1]
Books
Harris contributed to a 1946 book entitled Public Men, in and out of Office, edited by J. T. Salter.
In 1958 he published a book entitled Love Thy Neighbor.[1]
Personal life
Harris married Miriam Sima Levy in 1938. They had three children, Linda Gail, Mark Geoffrey, and Robert Nathaniel.[1]
He was an "able amateur hypnotist," as Life magazine reported in a photo spread in November 1941.[6]
Honors and awards
Harris was awarded the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting (National).
He also received the following awards:[1]
- Journalism Award, Fontbonne College, MO 1947
- Alumni Citation, Washington University, MO, 1957
- Award of Distinction, UCLA Department of Journalism, 1958
- Agricultural Writers' Award, 1961
References
- Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C. (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press. pp. 594–595. ISBN 9781573561112. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- The New York Times (18 March 1976). "Edward A. Harris, Winner Of Pulitzer, for Reporting". Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- Syracuse University Libraries. "Edward A. Harris Papers". Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- Donovan, Robert J. (1996). Tumultuous years: the presidency of Harry S. Turman, 1949-1953 (1. paperback pr ed.). Columbia: University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826210852. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- According to one source, he worked in the West Coast bureau from 1951 to 1957; another source says 1954 to 1958.
- Staff writer(s) (10 November 1941). "Hypnotism: it is having new vogue as stunt and as science". Life magazine. p. 80. ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
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