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 (originally Pitkäkangas) (1863-1931) and Anna Liisa (née 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 in March 1936. He was a candidate in the Republican primary for the House of 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. International Journal of Public Opinion Research Volume 10, issue 3, pages 237-256. 10 (3): 237–256. doi:10.1093/ijpor/10.3.237. 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. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. 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
  • Holli, Melvin G. (2002) The Wizard of Washington: Emil Hurja, Franklin Roosevelt, and the Birth of Public Opinion Polling (Palgrave Macmillan) ISBN 978-0312293956
  • Sabato, Larry J. (1981) The Rise of Political Consultants (New York: Basic Books) ISBN 978-0465070398
  • Johnston, Alva, "Prof." Hurja, The New Deal's Political Doctor, The Saturday Evening Post (June 13, 1936)
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