JFK Awarded Pulitzer Prize for “Profiles in Courage” by Marie History, Politics Posted in Culture

On May 6, 1957 – the Pulitzer Prize for Biography was awarded to the United Sates Senator from Massachusetts John F. Kennedy for “Profiles in Courage.” The work was widely acclaimed and helped Kennedy earn national recognition. While not without controversy as to the actual writing of the book (some have claimed that Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen actually wrote the book) and the validity of some of the characterizations (Blanche Ames*, the daughter of Governor Adelbert Ames tried unsuccessfully to get a retraction on the negative description of her father), the work remains one of the definitive books written on both political courage and the U.S. Senate.

In 1954-1955, Senator Kennedy was bedridden as a result of back surgery. It was during this time that the research and preparation was done for what became this award-winning book. Here is a list of those eight men – members of the United States Senate – deemed by John F. Kennedy as Profiles in Courage:

*Note – there is always a Lowell connection:

Blanche Ames was born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1878. Her father was General Adelbert Ames, a union officer during the American Civil War, and later, Governor of Mississippi. Her mother, Blanche Butler, was the daughter of Benjamin Butler – a lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives, served as Governor of Massachusetts the Governor of Massachusetts and as a Union Major General during the Civil War.