H. Johnson, 81, civil-rights coverage won Pulitzer Prize

WASHINGTON

- Haynes Johnson, a pioneering Washington journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the civil rights movements and migrated from newspapers to television, books and teaching, died yesterday. He was 81.

The Washington Post reported he died of a heart attack at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md.

Johnson was awarded a Pulitzer in 1966 for reporting on the civil-rights struggle in Selma, Ala., while with the Washington Evening Star. He spent about 12 years at the Star before joining its chief rival, the Post, in 1969. Johnson was a columnist for the Post from 1977 to 1994.

The author, co-author or editor of 18 books, Johnson also appeared regularly on the PBS programs "Washington Week in Review" and "The NewsHour."

Johnson taught at the University of Maryland since 1998. He also taught at Penn and Princeton.

Johnson studied journalism and history at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1952. After serving three years in the Army during the Korean War, he earned a master's degree in American history from the University of Wisconsin in 1956.

Johnson married Julia Ann Erwin in 1954; they had three daughters and two sons and later divorced. In 2002, Johnson married Kathryn Oberly, an associate judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

- Associated Press