Ron Chernow | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Chernow in 2004 | |
| Born | Ronald Chernow (1949-03-03)March 3, 1949 (age 76) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
| Education | Yale University (BA) Pembroke College, Cambridge |
| Period | 1973–present |
| Subject | Historical biography |
| Notable works | Alexander Hamilton The House of Morgan Washington: A Life Grant Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Biography (2011) American History Book Prize (2011) National Book Award for Nonfiction (2010) |
| Spouse | |
| Signature | |
 | |
 Literature portal | |
Ronald Chernow (/ˈtʃɜːrnaʊ/;[1][2] born March 3, 1949) is an American writer, journalist, and biographer. He has written bestselling historical non-fiction biographies.
Chernow won the2011Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the 2011American History Book Prize for his 2010 bookWashington: A Life. He is also the recipient of theNational Book Award for Nonfiction for his 1990 bookThe House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance.[3] His biographies ofAlexander Hamilton (2004) andJohn D. Rockefeller (1998) were both nominated forNational Book Critics Circle Awards. His biography of Hamilton inspired the popularHamilton musical, which Chernow worked on as a historical consultant. For another book,The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family, he was awarded the 1993 George S. Eccles Prize for Excellence in Economic Writing. As a freelance journalist, Chernow has written over sixty articles for various national publications.
Chernow was born on March 3, 1949, inBrooklyn,New York. His father, Israel, was the owner of a discount store and creator of a stock brokerage firm; his mother, Ruth, was abookkeeper. He is brother to Bart Chernow and uncle to Shandee Chernow.[4] He is ofJewish descent.[5] Chernow was voted "Most Likely to Succeed", and was class president and valedictorian when he graduated in 1966 fromForest Hills High School inQueens inNew York City.[6] Chernow graduatedsumma cum laude fromYale University in 1970 andPembroke College atCambridge University with degrees in English literature. He began but did not finish a PhD program. He says that in politics he is a "disgruntled Democrat" and gives his religion as "Jewish, though more in the breach than the observance."[7]
Chernow married Valerie Stearn in 1979; she died in January 2006. Valerie S. Chernow was an assistant professor of languages and social sciences at theNew York City College of Technology.[8]
Chernow began his career as a freelance journalist. He wrote more than 60 articles for various national newspapers and magazines from 1973 to 1982. In the mid-1980s, he put his writing pursuits aside when he began serving as the director of financial policy studies with theTwentieth Century Fund inNew York City. In 1986, he left the organization and refocused his efforts on writing. In addition to writing nonfiction books and biographies, Chernow contributes articles toThe New York Times[9] andThe Wall Street Journal. He has also commented on business, politics, and finance on national radio and television shows, and appeared as an expert in documentary films.
In 1990, Chernow published his first book,The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance, which traces four generations of theJ.P. Morgan financial empire.[10] The reviewer forThe New York Times Book Review said, "As a portrait of finance, politics and the world of avarice and ambition on Wall Street, the book has the movement and tension of an epic novel. It is, quite simply, atour de force."[11]The House of Morgan was honored with theNational Book Award for Nonfiction.[3]
In 1993, Chernow publishedThe Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family, an account of theWarburg family, who immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1938. The Warburg family was a prominentfinancial dynasty ofGerman Jewish descent, known for their accomplishments inphysics,classical music,art history,pharmacology,physiology,finance,private equity, andphilanthropy. The book was awarded theColumbia Business School's George S. Eccles Prize for Excellence in Economic Writing. It was named as one of the year's ten best works by theAmerican Library Association[12] and a Notable Book byThe New York Times.
In 1997, Chernow published a collection of essays entitledThe Death of the Banker: The Decline and Fall of the Great Financial Dynasties and the Triumph of the Small Investor.
In 1998, Chernow published the 774-pageTitan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., about theindustrialist,philanthropist, and founder of theStandard Oil Company. The book reflected Chernow's continued interest in financial history, especially when shaped by compelling and influential individuals. The book remained onThe New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks, whileTime called it "one of the great American biographies".[13] Both publications listed it among the year's ten best books.
In 2004, Chernow publishedAlexander Hamilton. The biography was nominated for aNational Book Critics Circle Award[14] and was named as the winner of the inauguralGeorge Washington Book Prize for early American history.[15] It remained onThe New York Times Best Seller list for three months. In his review for theJournal of American History, Stephen B. Presser, who is professor of business law emeritus atNorthwestern University,[16] wrote:
This book is one of those happy rarities: a popular biography that should also delight scholars. ...This is the kind of synthetic narrative history and biography that is rarely done to such high standards and is clearly one of the best introductions to the American formative era available. Moreover, the way Chernow integrates international affairs, domestic politics, economic and constitutional theory, and astute psychological analysis is nothing short of wondrous.[17]
The biography was adapted into a Tony award-winningmusical,Hamilton, byLin-Manuel Miranda, which opened on Broadway in August 2015. Chernow served as historical consultant to the production.[18]
Chernow's 904-pageWashington: A Life was released on October 5, 2010. It won thePulitzer Prize for Biography[19][20] and theAmerican History Book Prize. ProfessorGordon S. Wood, renowned scholar of the Founding era, wrote:[21]
[T]he best, most comprehensive, and most balanced single-volume biography of Washington ever written.... One comes away from the book feeling that Washington has finally become comprehensible.... [Chernow's] understanding of human nature is extraordinary and that is what makes his biography so powerful.[22]
In 2011, Chernow signed a deal to write a comprehensive biography onUlysses S. Grant.[23] Chernow explained his transition from writing about George Washington to Grant: "Makes some sense as progression. Towering general of Revolution to towering general of Civil War. Both two-term presidents, though with very different results."[24]Grant was released on October 10, 2017, and the biography strongly argues against the conventional wisdom that Grant was an "adequate president, a dull companion and a roaring drunk."[25] The book received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was named byThe New York Times as one of the 10 Best Books of 2017.[26]
In 2025, Chernow wrote a full length biography ofMark Twain released by Penguin Press.[27]
In 1990, Chernow became a member of thePEN American Center. In 2006, he was named as the President of the Board of Trustees, succeeding novelistSalman Rushdie.[28]
Ron Chernow has received honorary degrees fromLong Island University,Marymount Manhattan College,Hamilton College,Washington College, andSkidmore College.[7]
Awards Council member General David H. Petraeus presents the Golden Plate Award to Ron Chernow, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the biography Alexander Hamilton, during the 53rd annual Banquet of the Golden Plate.
Previously the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography from 1917–2022 | ||
| 1917–1925 |
|   |
| 1926–1950 |
| |
| 1951–1975 |
| |
| 1976–2000 |
| |
| 2001–2025 |
| |
