Author, Historian. Among the most famous historians of his time, he won Pulitzer Prizes for "The Age of Jackson", a study of President Andrew Jackson's administration, and again for "A Thousand Days", his memoir-chronicle of President John F. Kennedy's administration. He received a National Book Award for "Robert Kennedy and His Times". Schlesinger attended Phillips Exeter Academy and in 1938 graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University. During World War II he drafted statements for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as an intelligence analyst for the Office of Strategic Services, a forerunner to the CIA. In the 1950s he became increasingly involved in electoral politics, supporting Adlai Stevenson and then John F. Kennedy. In 1961 Kennedy appointed Schlesinger a special assistant, an advisory position he held until President Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Later he supported Robert Kennedy's Presidential 1968 campaign. He said that his involvement in politics had the unfortunate effect of keeping him from writing more books. His works included "The Age of Roosevelt", an acclaimed series about President Franklin Roosevelt that he abandoned after joining the Kennedy Administration but to revived late in life, and "The Disuniting of America", a controversial book which warned a cult of ethnicity could reduce the country to isolated factions. To the amusement of President Kennedy, Schlesinger also wrote film criticism for Vogue Magazine and other publications.
Author, Historian. Among the most famous historians of his time, he won Pulitzer Prizes for "The Age of Jackson", a study of President Andrew Jackson's administration, and again for "A Thousand Days", his memoir-chronicle of President John F. Kennedy's administration. He received a National Book Award for "Robert Kennedy and His Times". Schlesinger attended Phillips Exeter Academy and in 1938 graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University. During World War II he drafted statements for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as an intelligence analyst for the Office of Strategic Services, a forerunner to the CIA. In the 1950s he became increasingly involved in electoral politics, supporting Adlai Stevenson and then John F. Kennedy. In 1961 Kennedy appointed Schlesinger a special assistant, an advisory position he held until President Kennedy's assassination in 1963. Later he supported Robert Kennedy's Presidential 1968 campaign. He said that his involvement in politics had the unfortunate effect of keeping him from writing more books. His works included "The Age of Roosevelt", an acclaimed series about President Franklin Roosevelt that he abandoned after joining the Kennedy Administration but to revived late in life, and "The Disuniting of America", a controversial book which warned a cult of ethnicity could reduce the country to isolated factions. To the amusement of President Kennedy, Schlesinger also wrote film criticism for Vogue Magazine and other publications.
Bio by: Ron Moody
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