Robert Kinloch Massie III (January 5, 1929 – December 2, 2019) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

. He devoted much of his career to studying and writing about the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastacia of Russia, Anastasi ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

's imperial family from 1613 to 1917. Massie was awarded the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for '' Peter the Great: His Life and World''. He also received awards for his book ''Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman'' (2011). His book ''

Nicholas and Alexandra ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' is a 1971 British epic historical drama film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, from a screenplay written by James Goldman and Edward Bond, based on Robert K. Massie's 1967 book of the same name, which is a partial ...

'' (1967) was adapted as a British film by the same name that was released in 1971. It starred

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

Michael Jayston Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, is an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have include ...

, and

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman, (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who enjoyed a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles, among others, on TV. In her first film, ''Nichol ...

Early life and education

Massie was born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, to Robert Massie, Jr., an educator, and Molly, née Kimball, an activist for progressive causes. He was raised there and in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, Tennessee. He earned degrees in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Schol ...

from

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 w ...

and as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. While at Oxford, Massie played on the Oxford University Men's Basketball Team. He served in the early 1950s as a nuclear targeting officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, in the period around the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

Career

Massie worked as a journalist for ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Coll ...

'' and from 1959 to 1962 for ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' before taking a position at the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

''. He also taught at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

and Tulane universities. In 1967, after leaving the ''Saturday Evening Post'' to concentrate on his historical writing, Massie published his breakthrough book, ''

'', an authoritative biography of Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...

(1868–1918, reigned 1894–1917) and

Alexandra of Hesse german: Alix Viktoria Helene Luise Beatrixrussian: Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother = Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_name ...

(1872–1918), the last Emperor and Empress of

. His interest in the Russian imperial house had been inspired by the birth of his son, Robert Kinloch Massie IV, who was born with

hemophilia Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising ...

. This hereditary disease also afflicted Nicholas's only son the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, heir apparent to the imperial throne. His book was adapted for a film with the same title, released in 1971 and starring

and

. It won Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and was nominated for four others, as well as several Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards. Massie and his wife Suzanne chronicled their personal experiences as parents of a hemophiliac child in ''Journey'', published in 1975. They had moved to France, and in the book also discussed differences between the health care systems in the US and France. In the 1990s, much new information about the Romanovs and Russian governments became accessible following the opening of Russian and Soviet archives after the end of 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 t ...

and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990. In addition, the remains of the Tsar, his wife, and their children were exhumed from unmarked, hidden forest graves near their execution site. Their identities were confirmed by

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

. Massie conducted additional research based on all this new information and published ''The Romanovs: The Final Chapter'' (1995). In 1998 the Romanov family were reinterred after a state funeral in the restored

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

at the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920 ...

in St. Petersburg, whose traditional name had been restored. Massie continued to write biographical books on the Russian Imperial family. He won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for '' Peter the Great: His Life and World.'' This was the basis of an NBC television network miniseries, ''

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

'' (1986), which won three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s and starred

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film '' Judgment at Nuremberg'', ...

and

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

. In 2011 Massie published ''Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman'', about the Tsarina

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

. It won the 2012 inaugural Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and the 2012

PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography The PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award is awarded by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to honor a "distinguished biography possessing notable literary merit which has been published in the United States during the previous calendar year." ...

. He also published two books on the early 20th century: '' Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War'' (1991) is a diplomatic history over four decades on the causes of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. '' Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea'' (2003) on the role of the ships in the war. In other activities, from 1987 to 1991, Massie was President of

The Authors Guild The Authors Guild is America's oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has counted among ...

, and he served as an ''ex officio'' council member. While president, he called on authors to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict so ...

any store that refused to carry

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

's ''

The Satanic Verses ''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel of British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism ...

,'' which had been threatened by Islamic religious leaders.

Personal life and death

Massie was married to Suzanne Rohrbach from 1954 to 1990. They divorced after having a son and two daughters. He later married Deborah Karl in 1992; she was his literary agent. They also had a son and two daughters together. Massie died from complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

on December 2, 2019, at the age of 90.

Awards and honors

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

* 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, ''Peter the Great: His Life and World'' * 1983 Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

* 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, ''Catherine the Great'' * 2012

, ''Catherine the Great''

Bibliography

* '' Nicholas and Alexandra: An Intimate Account of the Last of the Romanovs and the Fall of Imperial Russia'' (Atheneum, 1967; Ballantine Books, 2000, , Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2005, ) * ''Journey'' (Knopf, 1975) with Suzanne Massie, * '' Peter the Great: His Life and World'' (Knopf, 1980, , Ballantine Books, 1981, , Wings Books, 1991, ) * ''Last Courts of Europe: Royal Family Album, 1860–1914'' (Vendome Press, 1981) introductory text; picture research and description by Jeffrey Finestone, , Greenwich House/Crown Publishers, 1983, ) * '' Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War'' (Random House, 1991, , Ballantine Books, 1992, ) * ''There's an Old Southern Saying: The Wit and Wisdom of Dan May'' (Crabby Keys Press, 1993), foreword; compiled by William May Stern, * ''The Romanovs: The Final Chapter'' (Random House, 1995), and * '' Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea'' (Ballantine Books, 2004), , J. Cape, 2004, ) * '' Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman'' (Random House, 2011),

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massie, Robert K. 1929 births 2019 deaths American expatriates in France American Rhodes Scholars Historians of Russia Writers from Nashville, Tennessee Writers from Kentucky Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners People from Versailles, Kentucky People from Irvington, New York 20th-century American historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Newsweek people The Saturday Evening Post people 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Yale University alumni