10 April: Pulitzer Prizes:

Born on this date in 1847 was Joseph Pulitzer, US newspaper proprietor who founded the Pulitzer Prize. 10 facts about Pulitzer and his prizes:

1. There are currently 22 categories of Pulitzer Prize, including achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition. Categories do sometimes change as technology or terminology changes. There is no longer a prize awarded for telegraphic reporting, for example.
2. Most categories are only open to people from the USA. People from elsewhere can be considered for some, such as history writing, provided they write about American history, or journalism, provided their work is published in American Newspapers or magazines.
3. The Pulitzer Prize doesn’t automatically consider all applicable works in the media, but only those that have specifically been entered. There is a $75 entry fee.
4. Winners receive $15,000 and a certificate. Only the winner in the Public Service category of the Journalism competition gets a gold medal. The Public Service prize is always awarded to an organisation, not an individual.
5. Joseph Pulizer was born in Hungary. As a young man, he wanted to join the army and tried to enlist in the Austrian, French and British armies but each time was rejected because of his poor health and eyesight. Eventually, he met a bounty recruiter from the US Army who allowed him to enlist as a substitute for a draftee. Having learned that an agent would probably take most of his enlistment fee, Pulitzer is said to have jumped ship in Boston and swam to shore so he could keep all the money himself. The medal was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French.
6. At this point he couldn’t speak much English although he was fluent in German and French. He worked at various jobs including baggage handler and waiter while he spent his spare time in the library studying English and law. It was while he was there that he started watching people playing Chess, and one day made an intelligent comment about someone’s move, which impressed the players and led to a conversation with them. They happened to be editors of the leading German language daily, Westliche Post, and they offered him a job. His career in journalism had begun.
7. He worked hard as a journalist and editor and was also involved in politics. His health suffered, though. His eyesight got even worse so by the age of 43 he was nearly blind. He suffered from depression and extreme sensitivity to noise, so eventually left the newsroom and spent most of his time in soundproofed rooms at his home and on board his yacht.
8. The first African-American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize was Gwendolyn Brooks, She won it in 1950 in Poetry for Annie Allen. Roger Ebert was the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1975. The first pop musician to win one was Bob Dylan in 2008.
9. At time of writing, John F. Kennedy is the only US President to win. He won in Biography in 1957 for his book Profiles in Courage, although there have been claims that he used a ghost writer, who got no credit.
10. Some people have won as many as four times, including the poet Robert Frost. Other people who have won Pulitzer prizes include Ray Bradbury, Dr Seuss, Harper Lee and Aretha Franklin. In the fictional world, reporter and love interest of Superman, Lois Lane, is a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Character birthday

Cage, probability alterer with Combat Team Epsilon. He has bright orange skin although it can fade to a normal hue if he is not exposed to sunlight for several days. He once had the ability to fly but lost it for reasons unknown. He applied to join team Alpha, but at the time, they were specifically looking for someone who could fly, so he was turned down. Having lost that particular ability, he was resentful about that. In due course he was recruited by Epsilon.