Eugene Patterson

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Grave at Arlington National Cemetery

Eugene Corbett Patterson (October 15, 1923 – January 12, 2013), sometimes known as Gene Patterson, was an American journalist and

civil rights activist. He was awarded the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.[1][2]

Early life

Patterson was born in Valdosta, Georgia, the son of Annabel Corbett, a schoolteacher, and William C. Patterson, a bank cashier.[3] After the bank at which his father worked was closed in the course of the Great Depression, the family moved to a small farm near Adel, Georgia. The house had no running water or electricity, and was heated only by the fireplace. With his father able to get only occasional employment at local banks, the family was primarily supported by his mother's work as a teacher and her running the farm.[1]

As a teenager, Patterson began to work on weekends at the local journal, the Adel News.

North Georgia College at Dahlonega, Georgia where he studied for his freshman year. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Georgia in 1943.[4]
After graduation, he served as a tank commander in the
Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster for heroic achievement. The 10th Armored, CCB at Bastogne, held off the German Army onslaught for eight hours awaiting the arrival of the 101st Airborne Division to fully stop the offensive.[1]
He served as an Army pilot after the war until he left the military to pursue journalism in 1947.

Journalism career

Patterson's first jobs were with the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
.

Patterson wrote a signed

wiretaps. Patterson told them "We're not a peephole journal. We don't print that kind of stuff."[4]

Patterson was appointed

Lyndon Johnson had withheld information about the progress of the nation's waging of the Vietnam War from the United States Congress
, he was responsible for the Post's publication of the documents.

After teaching at Duke University in the 1971 school semester, he was president of the Times Publishing Company and appointed editor of the St. Petersburg Times,[6] now the Tampa Bay Times, which reached the top ten of major American newspapers during his tenure, the former St. Petersburg Evening Independent, and the Congressional Quarterly.[1]

Patterson later become president of the

Governor of Florida, Bob Graham, at 2 A.M., with a personal appeal to commute the sentence. To his disappointment, despite this, it was carried out, the first in Florida in 15 years.[1] In 2002, historian Raymond Arsenault published a biography and analysis of Patterson's impact.[7] Patterson was a 2010 inductee into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame
.

In 1966, he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Letters from Oglethorpe University.[8] In 1968, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[9]

Death

Patterson died in 2013 after a series of treatments for cancer. His remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hooker, Robert (2013-01-13). "Former Times editor Eugene Patterson, who championed civil rights and journalistic excellence, dies at 89". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  2. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (January 12, 2013). "Eugene C. Patterson, Editor and Civil Rights Crusader, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  3. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (13 January 2013). "Eugene C. Patterson, Editor and Civil Rights Crusader, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b Stacy, Mitch. "Eugene Patterson, 89, voice on civil rights, dies". 01/13/2013. Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  5. ^ "Eugene Patterson, editor and columnist, dies at 89". USA Today. 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  6. ^ "St. Petersburg Times ends annual awards to 'most valuable' legislators". St. Petersburg Times. 7 June 1983. p. 2B.
  7. ISBN 9780813025742
  8. ^ "Honorary Degrees Awarded by Oglethorpe University". Oglethorpe University. Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  9. American Academy of Achievement
    .

External links

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