Martin Luther Kilson Jr. (February 14, 1931 – April 24, 2019) was an Americanpolitical scientist. He was the first black academic to be appointed a full professor atHarvard University, where he was later the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government from 1988 until his retirement in 1999.
Martin Luther Kilson Jr. was born on February 14, 1931, inEast Rutherford, New Jersey,[1] to Martin and Louisa Kilson. The family moved toAmbler, Pennsylvania, and the younger Kilson attended Ambler High School before graduating at the top of his class atLincoln University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1953.[2]
He was granted a John Hay Whitney Fellowship and completed his education atHarvard University, graduating with a master's degree in 1958 and a doctorate the following year.[1] Kilson used aFord Foundation Fellowship to undertake field research in West Africa.[2][3]
Kilson returned to Harvard and accepted a lectureship at the university in 1962; he was appointed assistant professor in 1967.[4] Two years later, he became Harvard's first fully tenured African-American academic.[4] Kilson was awarded aGuggenheim Fellowship in 1975 and became the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government at Harvard in 1988.[2][3] At the start of his academic career, Kilson became known for his research intoAfrican American studies,[5] and became an adviser for the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard.[6] Kilson also compiled works relating tocomparative politics,[7] focusing within the field onAfrican studies.[8][9] Kilson's 1966 book,Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone, was reviewed extensively.[10]
After retiring from teaching in 1999,[2][3] Kilson continued to write and occasionally lecture. In 2002, he wrote a review forThe Black Commentator critical ofRandall Kennedy for the title of his book,Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.[11][12][13] In 2010, Kilson was featured in Harvard's annualW. E. B. DuBois lectures. He also wrote his final book,The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880–2012, which was published in 2014.[14]
Kilson and his wife Marion Dusser de Barenne had three children and they lived inLexington, Massachusetts.[2] He died on April 24, 2019, fromcongestive heart failure.[4][15] His alma mater Lincoln University had planned to present Kilson with an honorary degree at its commencement ceremony in spring 2019.[16]
^Ujifusa, Grant M. (March 11, 1964)."Martin Kilson".Harvard Crimson. RetrievedApril 29, 2019.
^Von Der Muhll, George (September 1978). "New States in the Modern World. Edited by Martin Kilson. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1975. Pp. 254. $15.00.)".American Political Science Review.72 (3):1109–1110.doi:10.2307/1955204.JSTOR1955204.S2CID146432472.
^Carter, Gwendolen M. (July 1966). "The Political Awakening of Africa. Edited by Rupert Emerson and Martin Kilson. [The Global History Series. Spectrum Book.] (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall. 1965. Pp. x, 175. Cloth $4.95, paper $1.95.)".The American Historical Review.71 (4).doi:10.1086/ahr/71.4.1396-a.
^Reviews ofPolitical Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone include:
Welch, C. E. (July 1967). "Book Reviews : Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone. By MARTIN KILSON (Cambridge, Mass., London, Harvard University Press, 1966). 301 pp. 56s".Race and Class.9 (1):109–110.doi:10.1177/030639686700900111.S2CID144910818.
Johns, Sheridan W. (September 1967). "Book Reviews : Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone. By MARTIN L. KILSON (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966. Pp. xiii, 301. $6.95.)".Political Research Quarterly.20 (3):749–750.doi:10.1177/106591296702000326.S2CID154016594.
Simpson, Dick (August 1967). "Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone. Martin Kilson".The Journal of Politics.29 (3):673–674.doi:10.2307/2127787.JSTOR2127787.
Fyfe, Christopher (November 1967). "Political change in Sierra Leone - Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone. By Martin Kilson. Harvard University Press, 1966. Pp. xiii + 301. $6.95".The Journal of African History.8 (3):565–567.doi:10.1017/S0021853700008136.S2CID154234686.
