Frank Luther Mott

Frank Luther Mott (April 4, 1886 – October 23, 1964) was an American historian and journalist of Quaker descent.

Early Years

Mott was born in Rose Hill, Iowa. His parents were Mary E. (Tipton) and David Charles Mott, publishers of the weekly What Cheer, Iowa Patriot.^[1] The Mott family owned a print shop in Keokuk County.

Academic Career

He taught English at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa and was the head of the Journalism Department at the University of Iowa (UI) for twenty years until his appointment as Dean of the University of Missouri (MU)'s School of Journalism in 1942.

He may have coined the term photojournalism in 1924,^[2] Mott was influential in the development of photojournalism education: the first photojournalism class was taught at UI during his tenure, and the first photojournalism program, directed by Clifton C. Edom, started at MU in 1943 upon his request.

His book, A History of American Magazines, won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for History; and Volume 4 of said work won the Bancroft Prize in 1958.

Mott served as president of Kappa Tau Alpha from 1937–1939. He died in Columbia, Missouri.

Select bibliography

• Editor, Interpretations of Journalism: A Book of Readings with Ralph D. Casey, 1937.
• A History of American Magazines, 1938.
• Golden Multitudes: the Story of Best Sellers in the United States, 1947.
• The News in America, 1952.
• The Old Printing Office with John DePol, 1962.
• American Journalism, a History, 1690-1960, 1962.

References

• Frank Luther Mott Collection of American Best Sellers, 1662-1945
• Mott, Frank Luther (1886-1964) and Vera I. (1885- 1964), Papers, 1775-1965, (C2344)
• Papers of Frank Luther Mott, 1918-1963
• Review and bibliography of “The Old Printing Office” by Frank Luther Mott
• Long, Howard Rusk. Frank Luther Mott: Scholar, Teacher, Human Being. [Carbondale, Ill., Hornstone Press, ©1968.]
• Marshall, Max Lawrence. Frank Luther Mott, Journalism Educator. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri, 1968.
• Stroebel, Leslie D. and Richard D. Zakia. The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography. Boston: Focal Press, 1993.

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