Renowned Psychiatrist and Author Robert Coles Passes Away
WHO:
ABC News - Robert Coles, psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has died at the age of 97.
ABC News - His son, also named Robert Coles, confirmed the news of his father's death.
WHAT:
ABC News - Robert Coles was known for championing the needs of children affected by poverty and segregation.
ABC News - He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for general nonfiction for the second and third parts of his five-volume work "Children of Crisis."
ABC News - Coles authored more than 50 books and hundreds of articles and essays throughout his career.
WHERE:
ABC News - Coles died at a hospice center in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
ABC News - He held a long-term appointment at Harvard University, where he was a professor of psychiatry and medical humanities.
WHEN:
ABC News - Coles was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard in 1950.
ABC News - He received a medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1954.
ABC News - He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.
WHY:
ABC News - Coles focused on documenting the needs of children during social upheaval, particularly those in poverty.
HOW:
ABC News - Coles visited families repeatedly to understand their experiences and used crayons to allow children to express themselves through drawing.
ABC News - He taught a popular Harvard class called the Literature of Social Reflection, emphasizing introspection and the meaning of life.
(UPDATED June 8, 2026 04:16 UTC)
Renowned psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Coles has passed away at the age of 97, with his son confirming the news. Coles was celebrated for his advocacy for children impacted by poverty and segregation, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for his influential work "Children of Crisis," and he authored over 50 books throughout his distinguished career. He died at a hospice center in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where he had long served as a professor of psychiatry and medical humanities at Harvard University.