Martin Luther Kilson Jr. (February 14, 1931 – April 24, 2019) was an American
political scientist
Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
. He was the first black academic to be appointed a full professor at
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 higher le ...
, where he was later the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government from 1988 until his retirement in 1999.
Early life
Martin Luther Kilson Jr. was born on February 14, 1931, in
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census. ,
to Martin and Louisa Kilson. The family moved to
Ambler, Pennsylvania
Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the Center City Philadelphia.
History Lenape
The historical territory of the Lenni Lenape was in the Delaware River Valley, in a ...
, and the younger Kilson attended Ambler High School before graduating at the top of his class at
Lincoln University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1953.
He was granted a John Hay Whitney Fellowship and completed his education at
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 higher le ...
, graduating with a master's degree in 1958 and a doctorate the following year.
Kilson used a
Ford Foundation Fellowship
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
to undertake field research in West Africa.
Career
Kilson returned to Harvard and accepted a lectureship at the university in 1962; he was appointed assistant professor in 1967.
Two years later, he became Harvard's first fully tenured African-American academic.
Kilson was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
in 1975 and became the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government at Harvard in 1988.
At the start of his academic career, Kilson became known for his research into
African American studies, and became an adviser for the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard. Kilson also compiled works relating to
comparative politics
Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...
, focusing within the field on
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...
. Kilson's 1966 book, ''Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone'', was reviewed extensively.
After retiring from teaching in 1999,
Kilson continued to write and occasionally lecture. In 2002, he wrote a review for ''The Black Commentator'' critical of
Randall Kennedy
Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American law professor at Harvard University and author. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in ...
for the title of his book, ''
Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word''. In 2010, Kilson was featured in Harvard's annual
W. E. B. DuBois lectures. He also wrote his final book, ''The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880–2012'', which was published in 2014.
Personal life
Kilson and his wife Marion Dusser de Barenne had three children and they lived in
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...
.
He died on April 24, 2019, from
congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
.
His alma mater Lincoln University had planned to present Kilson with an honorary degree at its commencement ceremony in spring 2019.
Selected bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilson, Martin Luther
1931 births
2019 deaths
African-American political scientists
American political scientists
Harvard University faculty
Harvard University alumni
Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
People from Ambler, Pennsylvania
People from East Rutherford, New Jersey
People from Lexington, Massachusetts
Academics from New Jersey
20th-century social scientists
21st-century American male writers
20th-century American male writers
20th-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American writers
American Africanists
Black studies scholars
African-American male writers