Deaths on February 29

Walter Yust, American journalist and author (b. 1894)

Walter M. Yust (May 16, 1894 – February 29, 1960) was an American journalist and writer. Yust was also the American editor-in-chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica from 1938 to 1960. He was the father of filmmaker Larry Yust and Jane Yust Rivera.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Yust began his career as a writer for the Philadelphia Evening Ledger in 1917 and later worked for newspapers in New Orleans, Louisiana, and for other publications. Yust became the literary editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger in 1926. Three years later, upon writing a review of the new 14th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, Yust came to the attention of its president, William Cox. The following year Yust began to work for the encyclopaedia and became its associate editor in 1932. He served as editor in chief from 1938 until his retirement in 1960.