Ely Jacques Kahn Jr. (December 4, 1916 – May 28, 1994) was an American writer with ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' for five decades.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, he was the son of architect

Ely Jacques Kahn Ely Jacques Kahn (June 1, 1884September 5, 1972) was an American commercial architect who designed numerous skyscrapers in New York City in the twentieth century. In addition to buildings intended for commercial use, Kahn's designs ranged throug ...

, and the brother of

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

editor and

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

Joan Kahn. He attended the

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , countr ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he took his B.A. in 1937. He was hired by

St. Clair McKelway St. Clair McKelway (February 13, 1905 – January 10, 1980) was a writer and editor for ''The New Yorker'' magazine beginning in 1933. Childhood McKelway was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Alexander McKelway, a Presbyterian minister, ...

at ''The New Yorker'' in 1937 and his first byline appeared there in the April 3, 1937 issue. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was drafted and served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from 1941 to 1945. ''The New Yorker'' publishing 39 of his pieces on Army life that were later collected in book form. His long career with the magazine resulted in numerous books on such varied subjects as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

Lesley J. McNair Lesley James McNair (May 25, 1883 – July 25, 1944) was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life; he was killed in action during World War I ...

, the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

Herbert Bayard Swope Herbert Bayard Swope Sr. (; January 5, 1882 – June 20, 1958) was an American editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the ''New York World.'' He was the first and three-time recipient of t ...

, Frank Sinatra, Dwayne O. Andreas of Archer Daniels Midland, and the Postal Inspection Service. However, his multi-part series on grain, which was published in book form as "Staffs of Life" in 1985, was criticized by some as an example of the self-indulgent journalism that marked ''The New Yorker'' during the 1970s and '80s. Kahn lived in Scarborough-on-Hudson, New York, for more than 20 years, and was a member of the

Briarcliff Manor Fire Department The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department (BMFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York and its hamlet Briarcliff Manor, New York#Neighborhoods, Scarborough. The volunteer fire department ...

. He taught writing at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1974 to 1977. His book ''The New Yorker and Me'' (New York: G.P. Putnam's, 1979) is a diary interspersed with memories of his life, the magazine, and its editor

William Shawn William Shawn ('' né'' Chon; August 31, 1907 – December 8, 1992) was an American magazine editor who edited ''The New Yorker'' from 1952 until 1987. Early life and education Shawn was born William Chon on August 31, 1907, in Chicago, Illino ...

—whom Kahn calls "The Iron Mouse." His 1987 diary was released as ''Year of Change: More about the New Yorker and Me'' (New York: Viking, 1988).

Death

Kahn died in a traffic accident on May 28, 1994, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, at the age of 77. "E. J. Kahn Jr., 77, Writer for The New Yorker," by Richard D. Lyons, The New York Times, May 29, 1994
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Bibliography

''Incomplete - to be updated''

Books

*''Army Life,'' 1942 *''G. I. Jungle,'' 1943 *'' McNair: Educator of an Army,'' 1945 *''Fighting Divisions,'' 1945 *''The Voice,'' 1947(Sinatra) *''Who, Me?,'' 1949 *''The Peculiar War,'' 1952 *''The Merry Partners: The Age and Stage of Harrigan and Hart,'' 1955 *''The Big Drink: The Story of

,'' 1960 *''The A Reporter Here and There,'' 1961 *''The Stragglers,'' 1962 *''The World of Swope,'' 1964 *''A Reporter in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

,'' 1966 *''The Separated People: A Look at Contemporary

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

,'' 1968 *''Harvard: Through Change and Through Storm,'' 1969 *''The

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Underground Gourmet,'' 1972 *''The First Decade: A Report on Independent Black Africa,'' 1972 *''Fraud: The United States Postal Inspection Service and Some of the Fools and Knaves It Has Known,'' 1973 *''The American People,'' 1973 *''The China Hands: America's Foreign Service Officers and What Befell Them,'' 1975 *''

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from Rabun Gap to Tybee Light,'' 1978 *''Far-Flung and Footloose,'' 1979 *''

and Me,'' 1979 *''Jock: The Life and Times of

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whi ...

,'' 1981 *''The Staffs of Life,'' 1985 *''The Problem Solvers: A History of

Arthur D. Little Arthur D. Little is an international management consulting firm originally headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1886 and formally incorporated in 1909 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who had discovered acetate. ...

, Inc.,'' 1986 *''Year of Change: More about the New Yorker and Me,'' 1988. *''Supermarketer to the World: The Story of

Dwayne Andreas Dwayne Orville Andreas (March 4, 1918 – November 16, 2016), was one of the leading farm industrialists of the 20th century. He was former CEO and chairman of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Under his leadership he turned ADM into the larg ...

,'' 1991.

Articles

* * Profile of US Representative Jacob K. Javits. * Profile of US Representative Jacob K. Javits.

References

External links

''New Yorker'' Obituary by Bruce Bliven, June 13, 1994 issue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Ely Jacques Jr. 1916 births 1994 deaths American male journalists Journalists from New York City Horace Mann School alumni Harvard University alumni Columbia University faculty The New Yorker people The New Yorker staff writers United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Briarcliff Manor, New York 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers