Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)

Studies - András Csillag: Joseph Pulitzer, Master Journalist and Benefactor

The Metropolitan Museum of Art received a bequest of more than 900,000 dollars, devoted to the purchase of works of art. In his will Pulitzer testified his lasting admiration for Thomas Jefferson, by setting aside 25,000 dollars "that a statue of that great statesman may at last adorn some public place in New York, the foremost democratic city of the New Republic". (Seitz, 463.) The impressive statue now stands in one of the inner courts of Columbia University. Another sum of 50,000 dollars was left for the purpose of erecting a fountain at or near the Plaza entrance of Central Park, similar to the ones in the Place de la Concorde, Paris. The fountain now occupies the square on Fifth Avenue in front of the Plaza Hotel at 59th Street. Also, there is another important monument, which is in Paris and was a gift of Pulitzer: the imposing statue of George Washington and Lafayette as they are shaking hands with each other. Pulitzer's interest in education, and his desire to open opportunities for young men to advance themselves had a practical manifestation in the 1890's when he started providing a series of scholarships to students at Teachers' College, Columbia University, the City College of New York and various other institutions of higher education. Pulitzer also took a keen interest in the work of the black educator, Booker T. Washington and his Normal and Industrial Institute at Tuskegee, Alabama. Following 1901, he regularly and generously supported the Institute, paying for the expenses of several Negro students. As an act of charity and a token of heartfelt sympathy, he also made a donation of 25,000 dollars to the New York Association for the Blind (1909). * Nowadays, above all, Pulitzer's name is remembered for the lasting legacy of the Journalism School at Columbia University and the Pulitzer Prize closely attached to that institution. In the second half of the 19th century American colleges and universities continued to be the greatest beneficiaries of gifts, notably the first made by George Peabody, whose educational foundation was established in 1867. Wealthy philanthropists poured fortunes into old institutions and founded new ones; educators introduced new courses and adopted 16