Merlo J. Pusey
American journalist and nonfiction writer
Merlo John Pusey (February 3, 1902 in Woodruff, Utah – November 22, 1985 in Washington, D.C.) was an American biographer and editorial writer. He won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and the 1952 Bancroft Prize for his 1951 biography of U.S. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.
Born and raised on a farm near Woodruff, Utah, Pusey was a Latter-day Saint. He attended the Latter-day Saints University—now Ensign College—and graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Utah after working on the college newspaper. He later became a reporter and assistant city editor at The Deseret News in Salt Lake City.
Pusey worked for The Washington Post from 1928 to 1971, becoming associate editor in 1946, continuing to contribute occasional pieces until about two years before his death.
Between 1931 and 1933, Pusey was a part-time member of the staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. From 1939 until 1942, he was an instructor in journalism at George Washington University.
His interest in Roosevelt's "court packing plan" led directly to his biography of Hughes, who was chief justice at the time, and who gave him a number of interviews and full access to his private papers. Other books include Big Government: Can We Control It?
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american journalist and nonfiction writer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6819815. The first chronological checks are 1902, 1985, 1952 and 1951.
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