Joseph Pulitzer (1847 – 1911), the Hungarian born American who established the Pulitzer Prizes, originally had a burning ambition to be a soldier. He went to the United States in 1864 only because he had been rejected by the Austrian, French and British armies due to his poor physique and weak eyesight. In the United States however, his skill on horseback gained him a place as a cavalryman in the Union Army towards the end of the Civil War. After the war he settled in the USA and became a journalist.
By the 1880’s he had made a fortune with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York World. In his will he left $2 million to the Columbia University to set up a school of journalism and part of the money went to establishing the Pulitzer Prizes.
These prizes have been awarded since 1917 to outstanding US journalists, literary writers, musical composers, etc. There are 18 categories.
Hendrik
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