DAVIS, Horance G(ibbs), Jr. 1924-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born July 14, 1924, in Manchester, GA; died of heart failure August 16, 2004, in Gainesville, FL. Journalist, educator, and author. Davis was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former professor at the University of Florida. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific theater during World War II, he earned a B.A. at the University of Florida in 1948, followed by a master's degree there in 1952. His journalism career began at the Florida Times-Union, where he was a correspondent at the state capitol during the early 1950s. In 1954 he joined the University of Florida faculty, where he became a full professor of journalism in 1965, retiring in 1985. While teaching, Davis wrote for various newspapers, such as the Miami Herald and Atlanta Constitution, but his longest association was with the Gainesville Sun, for which he was a columnist and editorial writer from 1962 until 1983. It was for a series of stores about racism published in the Sun in 1971 that Davis won his Pulitzer. For his contributions to journalism, Davis received several honors, including the 1977 Wells Memorial Key from the Society of Professional Journalists and, in 2001, being inducted into the Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Florida Times-Union, August 18, 2004, p. B3.

New York Times, August 21, 2004, p. A12.

Palm Beach Post, August 18, 2004, p. B4.

Tampa Tribune, September 9, 2004, p. 1.

ONLINE

Gainesville Sun Online,http://www.gainesville.com/ (August 18, 2004).

Miami Herald Online,http://www.miami.com/ (August 18, 2004).

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication Web site,http://www.jou.ufl.edu/ (August 17, 2004).

University of Nevada Web site,http://www.ryunlv.com/ (August 27, 2004).