Emil Hurja

Emil Edward Hurja (22 January 1892 - 30 May 1953) was an American newspaper editor and political consultant. Hurja was a pioneer of political opinion polling and played an advisory role during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.[1][2][3]

Biography

Hurja was born in Crystal Falls, Michigan. He was one of twelve children born to Matt Hurja (1863-1931) and Anna Liisa (Keisari) Hurja (1870-1940), both of whom were immigrants from Finland to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1917, he received his A. B. at the University of Washington. He served as a Captain in the United States Army during World War I. He worked as the newspaper editor for the Breckenridge Daily American (1921-1926) in Breckenridge, Texas.[4] He was editor of the Pathfinder magazine (1939-1945).[5]

Hurja was executive director of the Democratic National Committee (1932-1937) under the direction of Democratic National Committee Chairman James Farley. He also provided poll analysis for the Democratic Party during elections held during 1932, 1934 and 1936. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Michigan and appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in March 1936. He was a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Representative from the 12th District of the State of Michigan (1946-1948).[6][7][8]

In 1919, he married Gudrun Andersen. He died in Washington, D.C. and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[9]

Honors

He was awarded both the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Robert M. Eisinger and Jeremy Brown (January 1998). "Polling As A Means Toward Presidential Autonomy: Emil Hurja, Hadley Cantril And The Roosevelt Administration". International Journal of Public Opinion Research Volume 10, issue 3, pages 237-256. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ David Greenberg. "FDR's Nate Silver". Politico Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  3. ↑ "1932: Emil Hurja becomes the first political consultant to analyze polls for a presidential campaign". Miller Center of the University of Virginia. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ "About us". Breckenridge American. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Emil Hurja (1892-1953)". Scandinavian Ancestry Politicians. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ Burton W. Folsom (July 1, 2002). "The Crystal Gazer from Crystal Falls". mackinac.org. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ Time Magazine cover. March 2, 1936
  8. ↑ "Emil Hurja 1912-1952" (PDF). F D R Library, Accession Number: 59-20. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ Emil Hurja, Captain, United States Army(Arlington National Cemetery)
  10. ↑ Hurja, Emil (1892–1953) Collection Archived February 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.

Other sources

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