On August 17, 1903, Joseph Pulitzer donated $2,000,000 to Columbia University. As a career journalist and newspaper publisher, Pulitzer wanted to leave a legacy of educating and celebrating ethical journalists. Most of the money from his donation was allocated to fund a new journalism school at Columbia. A quarter of the sum would establish the Pulitzer Prize, a prestigious award for journalism and literature granted annually since its inception in 1917.

Pulitzer was born in Hungary in 1847. After moving to America and fighting in the Union Army, an article about a job scam earned him a position at a German newspaper in St. Louis called The Westliche Post. He quickly rose to prominence and was soon widely known as an ethical, hard-hitting journalist. His writing exposed corruption, advocated for the everyday man, highlighted social injustice, and influenced politics. By age 25, he established his newspaper. Pulitzer served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1885 to 1886.

Columbia University declined Pulitzer’s first proposal for a journalism school in 1892. Determined to provide formal education for responsible journalism, Pulitzer supported the first school of its kind at the University of Missouri. Columbia’s new president agreed to Pulitzer’s ideas in 1902. The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism was founded in 1912, a year after the journalist’s death. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917. Joseph Pulitzer’s impactful journalism and enduring legacy still shape the landscape of journalism today.