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John Noble Wilford

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John Noble Wilford
Born(1933-10-04)October 4, 1933(age 90)
Murray, Kentucky
OccupationJournalist, author
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Tennessee,Syracuse University
GenreScience journalism
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize(1984)
Carl Sagan Award for Public Appreciation of Science(2001)

John Noble Wilford(born October 4, 1933[1]) is an author andscience journalistforThe New York Times.

Biography[edit]

Wilford was born October 4, 1933, inMurray, Kentucky,and attendedGrove High Schoolacross the border in nearbyParis, Tennessee.[1]After graduating from high school, he attendedLambuth Collegefor a year before transferring toUniversity of Tennesseein the fall of 1952.[1]He received a B.S. injournalismfrom UT in 1955 and anM.A.inpolitical sciencefromSyracuse Universityin 1956.[2]After completing his master's degree, Wilford spent two years with theU.S. ArmyCounterintelligence CorpsinWest Germany.[1]

Wilford's professional career began atThe Commercial AppealinMemphis, Tennessee,where he was a summer reporter in 1954 and 1955. He briefly served as a general assignment reporter atThe Wall Street Journalin 1956. Following his military service, he was a medical reporter at theJournalfrom 1959 to 1961.[1]In 1962, he held an Advanced International Reporting Fellowship at theColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism.That year, he also joinedTimeas a contributing editor specializing in science before moving in 1965 toThe New York Timesto be a science reporter (1965–1973) and science correspondent (1979–2008).[1][3]While at theNYThe also worked as assistant national news editor (1973–1975) and director of science news (1975–1979).

In 1969, he wrote the newspaper's front-page article about theApollo 11landing. His was the only byline on the front page, beneath the headline "Men Walk On Moon" and under the subheading "A Powdery Surface is Closely Explored."[4]On the 40th anniversary of the mission, Wilford's article was lauded by journalistStephen Dubner,co-author ofFreakonomics,who emphasized Wilford's skillful use of data. For example, Wilford wrote, "Although Mr. Armstrong is known as a man of few words, his heartbeats told of his excitement upon leading man's first landing on the moon. At the time of the descent rocket ignition, his heartbeat rate registered 110 a minute—77 is normal for him—and it shot up to 156 at touchdown." Dubner argues that this is one of the most elegant uses of data to have been ever used in journalism.[5]In the 2010s, Wilford's name was the only byline on the newspaper's front-page obituaries ofNeil ArmstrongandJohn Glenn.

Wilford received the 1984Pulitzer Prize for National Reportingfor work on "scientific topics of national import". He also contributed to the staff entry that received a 1987 National Reporting Pulitzer for coverage of theSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterand its implications. He has also won the G.M. Loeb Achievement Award from theUniversity of Connecticut,the National Space Club Press Award and two awards from the Aviation-Space Writers Association.[2]He was the 2008 recipient of the University of Tennessee's Hileman Distinguished Alumni Award.[6]

Bibliography[edit]

The following is a partial bibliography:

  • We Reach the Moon; the New York Times Story of Man's Greatest adventure(1969,ISBN0-373-06369-0)
  • The Mapmakers(1981,ISBN0-394-46194-0)
  • The Riddle of the Dinosaur(1985,ISBN0-394-52763-1)
  • Mars Beckons: the Mysteries, the Challenges, the Expectations of our Next Great Adventure in Space(1990,ISBN0-394-58359-0)
  • The Mysterious History of Columbus: an Exploration of the Man, the Myth, the Legacy(1991,ISBN0-679-40476-7)

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefKlein, Milton M."Prominent Alumni: Part II".University of Tennessee, Knoxville History.University of Tennessee.Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2016.RetrievedJuly 22,2009.
  2. ^ab"John Noble Wilford".University of TennesseeLibraries.RetrievedJanuary 7,2009.
  3. ^Wilford, John Noble (December 8, 2014)."Covering Mars Opened a New World".New York Times.RetrievedDecember 8,2014.
  4. ^Wilford, John Noble (July 13, 2009)."On Hand for Space History, as Superpowers Spar".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 22,2009.
  5. ^Dubner, Stephen J. (July 21, 2009)."When Data Tell the Story".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 22,2009.
  6. ^Tech, S. I. S. (September 3, 2012)."Hileman Award - College of Communication and Information".

External links[edit]

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