Joseph Pulitzer, a publisher, philanthropist, journalist and lawyer by profession in 1904 he decided to give his wealth to the University of Columbia to start department journalism. For the establishment of the department, he allocated $ 2,50,000 to the prize and scholarships. He died in 1911. In 1912 The Columbia School of journalism was established and later the Pulitzer Prize was instituted. Pulitzer had specified that the four awards were to be given in each category of journalism, letters, drama, travelling and one award in the field of education. The first award was given in the year 1917. Presently the award is given in 21 categories. Out of 21 categories, 20 winners get the U.S $ 15,000 which was increased to $ 17,000 in 2017. The Gold Medal is given in the Public Service Category. In the year 1997, on the occasion the 150th birth anniversary of the Pulitzer. The board introduced two modifications in the awards. The first was the award for the category of Music which was introduced in 1943 and till 1997 it was only given in classical music but from 1997 onwards the musicians from mainstream music(American Music) were awarded too. The first prize was to Wynton Marsalis’s “Blood on the Fields,” which has strong jazz elements. The second modification was in 1999, allowing online journalism to submit their work in the category of the Public Service. Later in 2006, the board allowed them in all the 14 categories of journalism and 2012 onwards board allowed all the digital entries.

INDIAN WINNERS OF THE AWARD