Gobind Behari Lal

2021-05-15T01:04:33Z

64.53.209.37:

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gobind Behari Lal
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1889|10|09}}
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1982|04|01|1889|10|09}}
| other_names = Gobind Bihari Lal
| citizenship = Indian
| education = [[Bachelor of Science|B.Sc.]]<br/>[[Master's degree|M.A.]]
| alma_mater = [[University of the Punjab, Lahore|Punjab University]]<br/>[[University of California, Berkeley]]
| occupation = Journalist
| employer = [[Hearst Newspapers]]
| organization = [[Ghadar Party]]
| title = President of the [[National Association of Science Writers]]
| term = 1940–41
| predecessor = [[William L. Laurence]]
| successor = [[John Joseph O'Neill (journalist)|John Joseph O'Neill]]
| movement = [[Indian independence movement]]
| relatives = [[Har Dayal]]
| awards = [[1937 Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer Prize]] (1937)<br/>[[Padma Bhushan]] (1969)
}}
'''Gobind Behari Lal''' was an Indian-American{{Citation needed span|text=|date=February 2020|reason=}} journalist and independence activist. A relative and close associate of [[Lala Har Dayal]], he joined the [[Ghadar Party]] and participated in the [[Indian independence movement]]. He arrived the United States on a scholarship to study at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. Later, he worked as a science editor for the [[Hearst Newspapers]]. In 1937, he became the first Indian to win the [[Pulitzer Prize for Reporting|Pulitzer Prize]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-17/us/37786229_1_martha-nelson-indian-american-journalist | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130411034450/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-17/us/37786229_1_martha-nelson-indian-american-journalist | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2013-04-11 | title = Indians hit the highspots in American journalism | date = 2013-03-16 | newspaper = [[The Times of India]] | access-date = 2013-03-16 }}</ref>

== Early life ==

Gobind Behari Lal was born to Bishan Lal, the Governor of the [[Bikaner (princely state)|Bikaner princely state]]. His mother's name was Jagge Devi.<ref name="Elizabeth1999">{{cite book | author1=Elizabeth A. Brennan | author2=Elizabeth C. Clarage | title=Who's Who of Pulitzer Prize Winners | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63nvmt4HqTEC&pg=PA559 | access-date=16 March 2013 | year=1999 | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=978-1-57356-111-2 | page=559 }}</ref> He obtained [[Bachelor of Science|B.Sc.]] and [[Master's degree|M.A.]] degrees from the [[University of the Punjab, Lahore|Punjab University]] at Lahore. He served as an assistant professor at the University from 1909 to 1912.

Lal was the cousin of the Indian nationalist [[Lala Har Dayal]]'s wife, and participated in the [[Indian independence movement]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Tapan K. Mukherjee |title=Taraknath Das: Life and Letters of a Revolutionary in Exile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATxuAAAAMAAJ |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=National Council of Education, Bengal, Jadavpur University |isbn=978-81-86954-00-3 |page=101 |quote="Govind Behari Lal, Har Dayal's wife's cousin and an important Gadar worker..."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Elizabeth A. Brennan |author2=Elizabeth C. Clarage |title=Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63nvmt4HqTEC&pg=PA559 |year=1999 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-1-57356-111-2 |page=559 |quote="Lal worked for Indian independence..."}}</ref> Har Dayal set up the Guru Govind Singh Sahib Educational Scholarship to encourage Indian students to gain scientific education. Lal began attending the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1912 on this scholarship.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/echoes/chapter6/chapter6_6.html | title = Echoes of Freedom: Gobind Behari Lal | publisher = UC Berkeley | access-date = 2013-03-16 }}</ref> He completed his [[postgraduate education]] there.

== Career ==

Lal served as the Science Editor for ''[[The San Francisco Examiner]]'' from 1925 to 1930. He was the first journalist to use the term "Science Writer" in his [[byline]].<ref name="Elizabeth1999"/> He went on to work for other [[Hearst Newspapers]] concerns in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.<ref name="NYT_1982">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/03/obituaries/gobind-behari-lal-reporter-shared-pulitzer-prize-in-1937.html | title = Obituary: Gobind Behari Lal, reporter; shared Pulitzer Prize in 1937 | date = 1982-04-03 | access-date = 2013-03-16 | newspaper = New York Times }}</ref> Lal wrote on a variety of topics, and interviewed many notable figures, including [[Albert Einstein]], [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]], [[H. L. Mencken]], [[Edna St. Vincent Millay]], [[Enrico Fermi]] and [[Max Planck]].<ref name="Elizabeth1999"/>

Lal shared the [[1937 Pulitzer Prize|1937 Pulitzer Prize for Reporting]] with [[John Joseph O'Neill (journalist)|John J. O'Neill]], [[William L. Laurence]], [[Howard W. Blakeslee]] and [[David Dietz]]. The group won the award for their coverage of science at the tercentenary of [[Harvard University]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Reporting | title = Pulitzer Prizes: Reporting | access-date = 2013-03-16 }}</ref>

Lal was one of the founding members of the [[National Association of Science Writers]], and served as the Association's President in 1940.<ref name="Elizabeth1999"/>

Lal died of [[cancer]] in 1982 at the age of 92, a few weeks after writing his last article.<ref name="NYT_1982"/>

== Awards and recognitions ==

* [[1937 Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer Prize]] (1937)
* [[Padma Bhushan]] (1969)<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 }}</ref>
* ''Tamra Patra'' (1973) by Government of India for participating in the Indian independence movement

The ''Gobind Behari Lal Scholarship in Science Journalism'' awarded by the Center for South Asia Studies of UC Berkeley was named after him.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://southasia.berkeley.edu/privately-funded-programs | title = Privately funded programs | publisher = Center for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley | access-date = 2013-03-16 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1960–69}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lal, Gobind Behari}}
[[Category:University of the Punjab alumni]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Delhi]]
[[Category:San Francisco Examiner people]]
[[Category:Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]

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Gobind Behari Lal