Kenneth Katzner (1930 − May 25, 2003) was an American

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. An expert on the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the First language, native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European langua ...

, Katzner worked as an analyst on

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

affairs for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, and was an author of several notable works on the Russian language.

Biography

Kenneth Katzner was born 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, ...

, and was raised in Forest Hills, New York. He studied Russian at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, from which he graduated in 1952. Having received intensive Russian language training at the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Language Program, Katzner later served in the Air Force in England as a communications intelligence officer. In the 1960s, Katzner was a writer and editor 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 ...

, contributing to

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

and

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (''AHD'') is an American English, American dictionary of English published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969. ...

. An authority on the Russian language, Katzner worked as a

expert in the

during the 1970s, and for the

in the 1980s and 1990s. Katzner was the author of several works on linguistics and Russian affairs, and his books were used as reference guides by journalists. His ''English-Russian, Russian-English Dictionary'', which Katzner had worked on for 18 years, sold in the hundreds of thousands and was pirated in the former Soviet Union. He continued working on new editions of this work up to the time of his death. Katzner was an avid photographer and a skilled

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player. His wife of 36 years was Betty Lenson Katzner of Washington. Katzner died of lung cancer at

Sibley Memorial Hospital Sibley Memorial Hospital is a non-profit hospital located in The Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and is licensed by the District of Columbia De ...

on May 25, 2003, at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife.

References

External links

Kenneth Katzner
at

Biblio.com Biblio.com is a privately owned international online marketplace specializing in rare and collectible books. Biblio was established in 2000 in Asheville, North Carolina, by Brendan Sherar and Michael Tracey. Biblio also provides e-commerce so ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzner, Kenneth 1930 births 2003 deaths Linguists from the United States Analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency Contributors to the Encyclopædia Britannica Cornell University alumni People from Washington, D.C. Syracuse University alumni United States Air Force officers 20th-century linguists