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Jonathan Schneer (born August 9, 1948) is an American historian of modern Britain whose work ranges over labor, political, social, cultural, and diplomatic subjects. He is an emeritus professor at the
Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
. In addition to writing numerous scholarly and popular books, he has written for such publications as ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', and ''
Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
''. His work has been translated into German, Chinese, and Turkish. He has appeared often on American, Canadian, and British media. He has lectured in six countries.


Early life and education

Jonathan Schneer was born on August 9, 1948 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. His father, Richard Schneer (1919–2004), was a dentist with a practice in New York City, who retired to
Berkshire County Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in ...
in northwestern
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, where he devoted himself to progressive causes. His mother, Sophie Solomonoff Schneer (1920–2009), was a modern dancer in New York City, who became a choreographer and school teacher in
Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...
. He has one sister, Deborah Schneer, a photographer. Schneer spent his first twelve years in New York City, where he attended the
Little Red School House The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive s ...
. He attended Mt. Greylock Regional High School in
Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...
, from which he graduated in 1966. He earned his B.A. with honors in history from
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in 1971, and his PhD from
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 ...
in 1978, where
Stephen Koss Stephen Edward Koss (1940 – 25 October 1984) was an American historian specialising in subjects relating to Britain. Koss received his BA, MA, and PhD from Columbia University, where he was a student of R.K. Webb. He began his academic ca ...
supervised his dissertation.


Career

Schneer's first teaching post was at
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
in 1976, initially as a teaching assistant for Peter Weiler, then as an Instructor.
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
hired him as an Assistant Professor in 1979. He became a full professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1989, where he taught until 2018. He was an early member of the editorial board of the ''
Radical History Review ''Radical History Review'' is a scholarly journal published by Duke University Press. The journal describes its position as "at the point where rigorous historical scholarship and active political engagement converge".
'' and served as an editor for many years, including three as book review editor. His book, ''London 1900: The Imperial Metropolis'', opened his eyes to the possibility of writing for a broad audience. He has been trying to do that ever since, without sacrificing depth of scholarship.


Personal life

In 1980, Schneer married Margaret Hayman, a lawyer. Upon moving from
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, she took a position as staff attorney with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, from which she retired in 2019. They have two sons, Benjamin Hayman Schneer, an Assistant Professor of American Politics at the
Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
who is married to the journalist and writer Elizabeth Segran, and Seth Hayman Schneer, an attorney in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, who specializes in health law. Schneer and his wife divide their time between Atlanta and Williamstown, Massachusetts.


Honors and awards

Schneer has been a Whiting Fellow and a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. More recently he has been a Beaufort Scholar at St. John’s College, Cambridge University, a Christensen Visiting Fellow at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University, and the Helen Cam Visiting Scholar at
Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...
. ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' and ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' both chose ''The Balfour Declaration'' as a book of the year. That book also won a 2010
National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.BBC History Magazine ''BBC History Magazine'' is a British publication devoted to both British and world history and aimed at all levels of knowledge and interest. The publication releases thirteen editions a year, one per month and a Christmas special edition, an ...
'' listed both ''The Balfour Declaration'' and ''Ministers of War'' as a book of the month.


Books

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Co-edited books

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References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneer, Jonathan Historians of the British Isles 1948 births People from New York City McGill University alumni People from Williamstown, Massachusetts Columbia University alumni Yale University faculty Georgia Tech faculty Living people Historians from New York (state)