Joseph Pulitzer

On April 10, 1847 in Mako Hungry, Joseph Pulitzer was born to a wealthy merchant of Jewish origin and a mother who was Roman Catholic. He was refined in private schools in Budapest but by the age of seventeen decided to become a soldier. He was unable to enlist due to weak eyesight and poor health.
He did enlist in the U.S. Union Army during the Civil War. After the war Pulitzer work as a baggage handler, waiter and muleteer. He taught himself the law and the English language and soon began writing articles. Pulitzer, with a reputation as an enterprising journalist, was offered the controlling interest in the Westliche Post, a job he achieved in 1868. He made many shrewd business deals and in 1989 was the owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a well-known journalist. He married Kate Davis, became a prominent citizen in St. Louis and was a successful business man.
Pulitzer worked day and night in every detail of the newspaper. He investigated articles and wrote editorials attacking government corruption and tax-dodgers. He negotiated to purchase The New York World where he crusaded against public corruption and wrote sensationalized features. He used illustrations in his news articles and rising subscriptions was the reward. His success brought about circulation wars with William Randolph Hearst and his paper The Journal. Pulitzer was responsible for the passage of antitrust legislation and the regulation of the insurance industry. He exposed a fraudulent payment by the U.S. to the French Panama Canal Company. However this publication was labeled as criminal libel towards Theodore Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan. Pulitzer was exonerated. He established freedom of the press.
Pulitzer passed away in 1911, but his Columbia School of Journalism was founded in 1912 and the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917. Pulitzer and his wife Katherine Davis had seven children and remained married until his death on October 29 at the age of 64.