1917 Pulitzer Prize

The 1917 Pulitzer Prizes were the very first to be presented. There were only four categories - the others that had been specified in Joseph Pulitzer's bequest were phased in over the next few years. The winners were selected by the Columbia University trustees. The first prize winner received $2000. That award was given to French Ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand, who wrote the best book about American history. Herbert Bayard Swope won a $1000 prize for reporting. ("Columbia Awards Pulitzer Prizes," New York Times, 9 June 1917, p. 10)

Journalism awards

• Editorial Writing:
  • New York Tribune, for an editorial article on the first anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, (no author named).
• Reporting:
  • Herbert Bayard Swope, New York World, for articles which appeared October 10, October 15 and from November 4 daily to November 22, 1916, inclusive, entitled, "Inside the German Empire."

Letters and Drama Awards

• Biography or Autobiography:
  • Laura E. Richards and Maud Howe Elliott assisted by Florence Howe Hall, Julia Ward Howe (Houghton).
• History:
  • Jean Jules Jusserand, With Americans of Past and Present Days (Scribner)