Jump to content

Lauren K. Soth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lauren Kephart Soth (October 2, 1910 – February 9, 1998) was an American journalist and recipient of the 1956 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.

Biography

[edit]

Soth was born October 2, 1910, in Sibley, Iowa, United States, he is the son of a school superintendent Michael Ray Soth and Virginia Mabel (Kephart) Soth.[1][2] He grew up in a few different small towns in Iowa including, Alton, Marathon, Wyoming, and Holstein.[1] He attended Holstein High School.[3] Soth attended Iowa State University (ISU) in 1927 and earned a B.S. in agricultural journalism in 1932 and a M.S. in agricultural economics in 1938.[4]

Soth was hired to write editorials in 1947 for The Des Moines Register and Des Moines Tribune.[1] He was then promoted to assistant editor in 1951 and later promoted to editor in 1954 for the editorial pages, working between 1947 until 1975 for 28 years.[1][5]

In 1955 Soth wrote "If the Russians Want More Meat...", an editorial article inviting a Soviet delegation to visit Iowa and learn about farming during the Cold War-era. As a result, an educational travel exchange between Soviet and Iowa farmers occurred, and it was this article that won him the 1956 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.[5]

He died on February 9, 1998, of cancer at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Soth, Lauren Kephart". The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa -The University of Iowa. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  2. ^ "Lauren Soth Papers, RS 16/3/54, Special Collections Department". Iowa State University Library. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  3. ^ Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich; Fischer, Erika J. (1990). The Pulitzer Prize Archive: A History and Anthology of Award-winning Materials in Journalism, Letters and Arts. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 191–192. ISBN 3598301707 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Distinguished Alumni". Iowa State University, Office of Admissions. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  5. ^ a b c "Lauren K. Soth, Pulitzer Prize Winner, 87". The New York Times. 1998-02-19. Retrieved 2018-11-19.