DIETZ, DAVID (6 Oct. 1897-9 Dec. 1984), covered science and medicine for the CLEVELAND PRESS and all Scripps-Howard newspapers for over 50 years. Born in Cleveland, the son of Henry W. and Hannah (Levy) Dietz, he graduated from CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL in 1915 and began writing for the Press while attending WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, being designated science editor for the Scripps-Howard chain in 1921. His daily science column began appearing in papers the following year. In 1934 he was a charter member and first president of the Natl. Assoc. of Science Writers. Their coverage of the scientific meetings held in conjunction with the Harvard tercentenary brought Dietz and 4 other science correspondents the 1937 Pulitzer Prize in reporting.
During WORLD WAR II, Dietz served as consultant to the surgeon general of the Army and on a committee of the Office of Scientific Research & Development. His book Atomic Energy in the Coming Era appeared in 1945, and after the war he covered the atom bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. Respected for rendering scientific jargon into readable prose, Dietz was also science correspondent for the NBC radio network in the 1940s. Dietz received honorary doctorates from WRU and Bowling Green State University, and was granted many awards. Among his 9 books, at both adult and young-reader levels, All about Satellites and Space Ships (1958) sold over 250,000 copies. Dietz married Dorothy Cohen on 26 Sept. 1918 and had 3 children: Doris (Turner), Patricia (Morris), and David, Jr. After an estimated production of 9 million column words, he retired to his home in SHAKER HTS. in 1977. Dietz died at the MARGARET WAGNER HOUSE of the BENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE was buried in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.