Howard Van Smith (April 6, 1909 – August 14, 1987), was an American journalist. A longtime staffer for The Miami News and several other newspapers, he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1959. Early life and education Born in Forest Hill, New Jersey, he was the son of Arthur Smith and Florence (Garrettson) Lockwood. He was graduated from Pennington Preparatory School in Pennington, New Jersey, in 1929 and from college (perhaps Union College or Franklin & Marshall College) in 1937. Career He worked as a copy boy at The New York Times. At around this time, he changed his name from Howard Smith to Howard Van Smith, reportedly in order to avoid being confused with another person named Howard Smith. He was a staff reporter for the New York Times from 1930 to 1932, then worked as a freelance writer from 1933 to 1935. He was a heating and hydraulics engineer from 1935 to 1942. He worked as a civilian engineer for the U.S. Air Force at Warner-Robins Air Force Base in Georgia from 1942 to 1944. He was a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel in 1944, then a Sunday editor for The Miami News from 1945 to 1957 and a "special writer" for that newspaper from 1957 to 1965. From 1948 to 1954, while at the Miami News, he was also a lecturer at the University of Miami. From the Miami News, he moved to the Fort Lauderdale News, for which he worked from 1965 to 1977. He then left journalism, working as an administrative assistant at the Florida Department of Agriculture in Davie, Florida, from 1978 to 1980. He was editor of the Florida Nurseryman from 1981 to 1986. Books and other writings He co-wrote the 1963 book The New Speech-O-Gram Technique for Persuasive Public Speaking with C. Raymond Van Dusen. He also wrote a 1973 book, The Education of Juan. In addition, he was contributor of articles and short stories to various national magazines. Other professional activities Van Smith was an adviser for Edward R. Murrow's 1962 CBS Reports television documentary Harvest of Shame. "It was the only documentary to make television's Hall of Fame." Honors and awards In 1959, while at the Miami News, Van Smith won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series of articles that focused public notice on deplorable conditions in migrant labor camps in Homestead and Immokalee, Florida. A January freeze