Howard Van Smith
Howard Van Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Howard Smith April 6, 1909 Forest Hill, New Jersey |
Died | August 14, 1987 Jacksonville, Florida | (aged 78)
Occupation | Journalist |
Nationality | American |
Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting 1959 |
Spouse |
Anne McCarron
(m. 1938; d. 1987) |
Howard Van Smith (April 6, 1909 – August 14, 1987), was an American journalist. A longtime staffer for The Miami News and several other newspapers, he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1959.[1]
Early life and education
Born in
Career
He worked as a copy boy at The New York Times. At around this time, he changed his name from Howard Smith to Howard Van Smith, reportedly in order to avoid being confused with another person named Howard Smith.[1]
He was a staff reporter for the New York Times from 1930 to 1932, then worked as a freelance writer from 1933 to 1935. He was a heating and
He was a reporter for the
He then left journalism, working as an administrative assistant at the
Books and other writings
He co-wrote the 1963 book The New Speech-O-Gram Technique for Persuasive Public Speaking with C. Raymond Van Dusen.[2]
He also wrote a 1973 book, The Education of Juan.[citation needed]
In addition, he was contributor of articles and short stories to various national magazines.[citation needed]
Other professional activities
Van Smith was an adviser for Edward R. Murrow's 1962 CBS Reports television documentary Harvest of Shame. "It was the only documentary to make television's Hall of Fame."[3]
Honors and awards
In 1959, while at the Miami News, Van Smith won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series of articles that focused public notice on deplorable conditions in migrant labor camps in Homestead and Immokalee, Florida. A January freeze had destroyed most of the winter crops in the area, stranding the workers, about 4000 in all, in shantytowns "mired in filth." His reporting "brought in $100,000 in contributions and prompted official action" and "gave national attention to the problem of migratory laborers." In particular, his articles were said to have stirred the feelings of Florida Governor LeRoy Collins, who saw to it that conditions for the workers were improved.[4][5] The series also "resulted in vastly improved conditions" for agricultural migrant laborers and "tightened state regulations" governing their working conditions.[3]
He won an award of merit from the Florida Public Health Association in 1959 and the Service to Mankind award in 1961. He was named to the Horticultural Hall of Fame in 1976 and selected as foremost gardening writer by the American Association of Nurserymen in 1978. He was also a New York State Center for Migrant Studies fellow at the State University of New York at Geneseo.[citation needed]
He reportedly also won "several awards as a garden writer and columnist."[3]
Personal life
He married Anne McCarron on June 21, 1938. They had four children, Garrett, Parris, Antony, and William. He married Micheline Mathews on November 26, 1965.[citation needed] Micheline was formerly married to John F. Mathews, with whom she had a daughter, Van Smith's stepdaughter, Micheline Mary Mathews. The stepdaughter taught bacteriology at Harvard Medical School and married Dr. Robert Steele Roth in 1966.[6]
Death
He died in a four-vehicle
Tributes
After his death, an editor of the
References
- ^ a b c Associated Press (August 17, 1986). "1959 Pulitzer Prize winner Howard Van Smith killed in wreck". Jacksonville: Gainesville Sun.
- ISBN 978-0136157328.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c d e Sun-Sentinel (August 17, 1986). "Howard Van Smith, 77, Winner Of Pulitzer Prize". Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- ^ New York Times (May 5, 1959). "Sketches of the Pulitzer Prize Winners for 1959 in Letters, Music and Journalism; TWO RECIPIENTS HAVE WON BEFORE". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- ^ Florida Historical Society. "Howard Van Smith Wins Pulitzer Prize". Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ New York Times (February 27, 1966). "Dr. Micheline Mary Mathews Betrothed to Dr. Robert Roth". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.