Clark Howell
Encyclopedia
Clark Howell was a Pulitzer Prize
winning American
newspaper man and politician from the state of Georgia
.
. During the American Civil War
his mother was in South Carolina
while his father, Captain Evan Howell
, served in the infantry and commanded a Confederate artillery battery.
Clark Howell attended the University of Georgia
(UGA) in Athens
where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society
as well as an early member of the Gamma
chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order
, and graduated with an A.B.
degree in 1883. Directly after he moved to New York City
and began working as a reporter for the New York Times then worked as the night telegraph editor of the Philadelphia Press
.
In 1880 he returned to Atlanta and worked as a reporter at the Atlanta Constitution where his father was editor-in-chief and a principal stock holder. After managing editor Henry W. Grady
died in 1889, the younger Howell took over that position. He eventually succeeded his father as editor-in-chief in 1897 upon the elder Howell's retirement. That year he was elected to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and served for one year. In 1901, Clark Howell purchased controlling shares in the Constitution to become its new owner.
Starting in 1886, Howell was elected to three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives
and served as speaker for one term. In 1900, he was elected one of the original directors of the Associated Press
, a position he maintained the rest of his life. Also in 1900 he was elected to the Georgia Senate
where he served consecutive two-years terms and was the President of that body during the latter term. Following that he was defeated in the contentious 1906 Democratic Georgia gubernatorial race won by Hoke Smith, owner of the rival Atlanta Journal newspaper.
Even though Howell was a life-long Democrat
, President Warren G. Harding
placed him on a special mining commission in 1922 and ten years later President Hoover
appointed him to a national transportation commission.
The Constitution won the 1931 Pulitzer Prize
for Howell's series exposing the Atlanta graft ring
which led to six indictments and the downfall of Mayor I. N. Ragsdale
's political career. In 1934, President Roosevelt named him to chair the Federal Aviation Commission in the wake of the Air Mail scandal
and appointed him chairman of a commission to study aviation in foreign countries. The French government made him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
in 1935.
He served as Georgia's state Democratic committeeman from 1896 to 1924 and again starting in June 1936 where he succeeded Governor Eugene Talmadge
.
Clark Howell founded WGST (Georgia School of Technology) as a gift to the Georgia Institute of Technology
in 1922. Operating as a commercial station with educational opportunities for students, the radio station was officially owned by the Board of Regents
. After several lawsuits, the station was sold to a private corporation in 1974. The school reacquired a radio station, now known as WREK
. A freshman residence hall at Georgia Tech, Howell Hall
, as well as an academic building at his alma mater, Clark Howell Hall, are named in his honor.
When he died he was the president and editor of the Atlanta Constitution and a director of the Associated Press.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper man and politician from the state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Biography
Howell was born on September 21, 1863 in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
his mother was in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
while his father, Captain Evan Howell
Evan Howell
Evan Park Howell was an American politician and early telegraph operator, as well as an officer in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War....
, served in the infantry and commanded a Confederate artillery battery.
Clark Howell attended the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
(UGA) in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society
Phi Kappa Literary Society
The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.The Society was founded in 1820 by Joseph Henry Lumpkin, later to become the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia and eponym for the , and by William Crabbe, Edwin...
as well as an early member of the Gamma
Gamma
Gamma is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Gimel . Letters that arose from Gamma include the Roman C and G and the Cyrillic letters Ge Г and Ghe Ґ.-Greek:In Ancient Greek, gamma represented a...
chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
, and graduated with an A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1883. Directly after he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and began working as a reporter for the New York Times then worked as the night telegraph editor of the Philadelphia Press
Philadelphia Press
The Philadelphia Press is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857 to October 1, 1920.The paper was founded by John W. Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 until his death in 1908...
.
In 1880 he returned to Atlanta and worked as a reporter at the Atlanta Constitution where his father was editor-in-chief and a principal stock holder. After managing editor Henry W. Grady
Henry W. Grady
Henry Woodfin Grady was a journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the former Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War....
died in 1889, the younger Howell took over that position. He eventually succeeded his father as editor-in-chief in 1897 upon the elder Howell's retirement. That year he was elected to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and served for one year. In 1901, Clark Howell purchased controlling shares in the Constitution to become its new owner.
Starting in 1886, Howell was elected to three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...
and served as speaker for one term. In 1900, he was elected one of the original directors of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, a position he maintained the rest of his life. Also in 1900 he was elected to the Georgia Senate
Georgia Senate
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly .-Composition:According to the state constitution of 1983, this body is to be composed of no more than 56 members elected for two-year terms. Current state law provides for 56 members...
where he served consecutive two-years terms and was the President of that body during the latter term. Following that he was defeated in the contentious 1906 Democratic Georgia gubernatorial race won by Hoke Smith, owner of the rival Atlanta Journal newspaper.
Even though Howell was a life-long Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, President Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
placed him on a special mining commission in 1922 and ten years later President Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
appointed him to a national transportation commission.
The Constitution won the 1931 Pulitzer Prize
1931 Pulitzer Prize
-Journalism awards:-Letters and Drama Awards:*Novel:**Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes *Drama:**Alison's House by Susan Glaspell *History:**The Coming of the War 1914 by Bernadotte E. Schmitt...
for Howell's series exposing the Atlanta graft ring
Atlanta graft ring
The Atlanta graft ring was a corruption scandal that erupted in 1930 that generated26 indictments and its exposure earned a Pulitzer Prize for the Atlanta Constitution in 1931....
which led to six indictments and the downfall of Mayor I. N. Ragsdale
Isaac Newton Ragsdale
Isaac Newton Ragsdale came to Atlanta in 1880 from Dallas, Georgia. He lived for many years in Oakland City and served as mayor there in 1908 before it was annexed into Atlanta. He was in the livestock business and from 1925 to 1926 he served as a Fulton County Commissioner...
's political career. In 1934, President Roosevelt named him to chair the Federal Aviation Commission in the wake of the Air Mail scandal
Air Mail Scandal
The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a congressional investigation of a 1930 meeting , between Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown and the executives of the top airlines, and to the disastrous...
and appointed him chairman of a commission to study aviation in foreign countries. The French government made him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 1935.
He served as Georgia's state Democratic committeeman from 1896 to 1924 and again starting in June 1936 where he succeeded Governor Eugene Talmadge
Eugene Talmadge
Eugene Talmadge was a Democratic politician who served two terms as the 67th Governor of Georgia from 1933 to 1937, and a third term from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a fourth term in 1946, he died before taking office...
.
Clark Howell founded WGST (Georgia School of Technology) as a gift to the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in 1922. Operating as a commercial station with educational opportunities for students, the radio station was officially owned by the Board of Regents
Board of Regents
In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...
. After several lawsuits, the station was sold to a private corporation in 1974. The school reacquired a radio station, now known as WREK
WREK
WREK is the radio station staffed by the students of the Georgia Institute of Technology. It is located at 91.1 MHz and on channel 17 on the Georgia Tech cable TV network, GTCN...
. A freshman residence hall at Georgia Tech, Howell Hall
Howell Hall (Georgia Tech)
Howell Residence Hall is a residence hall in the Georgia Tech Freshman Experience. It is named for Clark Howell, original endower of WGST. Howell Hall was designed by architects Bush-Brown & Gailey for $163,000...
, as well as an academic building at his alma mater, Clark Howell Hall, are named in his honor.
When he died he was the president and editor of the Atlanta Constitution and a director of the Associated Press.