Byron Price | |
|---|---|
 Price before 1946 | |
| 1st Director of The U.S.Office of Censorship | |
| In office December 20, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1891-03-25)March 25, 1891 Topeka, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 6, 1981(1981-08-06) (aged 90) |
| Citizenship | American |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize (1944) Medal for Merit (1946) |
Byron Price (March 25, 1891 – August 6, 1981) was an American government official who served as the 1st and only director of the U.S.Office of Censorship from 1941 to 1945 under PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and PresidentHarry S. Truman duringWorld War II.
Price was born nearTopeka, Indiana, on 25 March 1891. He was a magazine editor at Topeka High School, and worked as a journalist and newspaper deliverer at theCrawfordsville Journal and the college newspaper while attendingWabash College.
He joinedUnited Press in 1912 and theAssociated Press (AP) soon after, where he stayed for 29 years except for two years in theUnited States Army duringWorld War I. Price served as the AP's Washington bureau chief and, in 1937, became executive news editor of the organization. Price became the U.S. Director of Censorship on December 19, 1941. This was a day after the First War Powers Act was established. Heading theOffice of Censorship allowed Price to censor international communication, issue censorship rules, and set up two advisory panels to assist him in his duties.[1]: 36–39 For his "creation and administration of the newspaper and radio codes" at the Office of Censorship, Price received aspecial Pulitzer Prize in 1944.[2][a] In 1946, President Harry S. Truman presented him with theMedal for Merit for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services as Director, Office of Censorship, from December 20, 1941, until August 15, 1945."
After the Office closed in November 1945, Price did not return to the AP. Instead he became a vice-president of theMotion Picture Association of America, then anAssistant Secretary General at theUnited Nations from 1947 until retiring in 1954. During theCuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Price agreed to resume direction of censorship if war broke out with the Soviet Union.[1]: 211–212 The Byron Price papers are located at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, WI.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
