History of the Pulitzer Prize Timeline

The jury recommended Sinclair Lewis' 'Main Street' for the Novel prize, but the advisory board overruled it and no award was given. This decision foreshadowed decades of tension between jurors and the board over controversial literary choices.

The Washington Post returned Janet Cooke's Feature Writing prize after she admitted that her acclaimed profile of an eight-year-old heroin addict, 'Jimmy's World,' was fabricated. It remains the only Pulitzer Prize ever revoked, prompting stricter verification scrutiny across journalism.

The Pulitzer board ruled that online-only content could be submitted for all fourteen journalism categories, formally acknowledging digital journalism and allowing purely internet-based news organizations to compete for the first time.

The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina won the Public Service gold medal for 'Till Death Do Us Part,' its investigation into domestic violence. As a relatively small regional paper, its victory highlighted how digital-first strategies could enable smaller newsrooms to produce prizewinning journalism.

Image source: The Post and Courier

The board expanded eligibility to include audio journalism across all categories, and in 2020 the inaugural Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting was awarded to staffs of This American Life, WBEZ Chicago, and The Marshall Project for 'The Out Crowd,' documenting the aftermath of US immigration policies.

After being denied the prize for 'Main Street' in 1920, Sinclair Lewis won the Novel prize for 'Arrowsmith.' He famously declined it, criticizing the Pulitzer as designed by those who feared strong literature.

Image source: Arrowsmith (novel)

Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph of Marines raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during World War II won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography, becoming one of the most reproduced images in history.

Image source: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima

James A. Michener's short story collection 'Tales of the South Pacific' won the newly renamed Fiction prize; the work was later adapted into the Broadway musical 'South Pacific,' which also won a Pulitzer for Drama in 1950.

Image source: Tales of the South Pacific

Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, cementing the play's place as an American classic and highlighting the Drama category's capacity to recognize socially conscious theater.

Image source: Death of a Salesman

William Faulkner won the Novel prize for 'A Fable' in 1955 and again for 'The Reivers' in 1963, adding to his earlier win for 'A Town' in 1955's era of recognition; he remains one of only a few authors with multiple fiction Pulitzers, cementing his literary stature.

Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her debut novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' which addressed racial injustice in Depression-era Alabama and went on to become one of the most beloved and taught novels in American literature.

Image source: To Kill a Mockingbird

The New York Times won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for publishing the Pentagon Papers, classified documents revealing the government's secret history of the Vietnam War, affirming the press's role in holding power accountable.

Image source: Pentagon Papers

The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its Watergate investigation by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting ultimately contributed to President Nixon's resignation.

Image source: Watergate scandal

Garry Trudeau won the Editorial Cartooning prize for his comic strip Doonesbury, a rare example of a syndicated strip earning the award, underscoring the political satire's cultural impact.

Image source: Doonesbury

Following the September 11 attacks, The New York Times won a record seven Pulitzer Prizes, including Public Service, for its comprehensive coverage of the attacks and their aftermath, one of the most decorated single entries in the awards' history.