Ely Jacques Kahn Jr. (December 4, 1916 – May 28, 1994) was an American writer with ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' for five decades.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he was the son of architect

Ely Jacques Kahn Ely Jacques Kahn (June 1, 1884September 5, 1972) was an American commercial architect who designed numerous skyscrapers in New York City in the twentieth century. In addition to buildings intended for commercial use, Kahn's designs ranged throug ...

, and the brother of mystery

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

Joan Kahn. He attended the

Horace Mann School Horace Mann School (also known as Horace Mann or HM) is an American private, independent college-preparatory school in the Bronx, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New Yo ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he took his B.A. in 1937. He was hired by St. Clair McKelway at ''The New Yorker'' in 1937 and his first byline appeared there in the April 3, 1937 issue. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was drafted and served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

from 1941 to 1945. ''The New Yorker'' publishing 39 of his pieces on Army life that were later collected in book form. His long career with the magazine resulted in numerous books on such varied subjects as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

, Lesley J. McNair, the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...

Herbert Bayard Swope Herbert Bayard Swope Sr. (; January 5, 1882 – June 20, 1958) was an American editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the ''New York World.'' He was the first and three-time recipient of t ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, Dwayne O. Andreas of

Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 p ...

, and the Postal Inspection Service. However, his multi-part series on

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

, which was published in book form as "Staffs of Life" in 1985, was criticized by some as an example of the self-indulgent journalism that marked ''The New Yorker'' during the 1970s and '80s. Kahn lived in Scarborough-on-Hudson, New York, for more than 20 years, and was a member of the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department. He taught writing at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

from 1974 to 1977. His book ''The New Yorker and Me'' (New York: G.P. Putnam's, 1979) is a diary interspersed with memories of his life, the magazine, and its editor

William Shawn William Shawn (''né'' Chon; August 31, 1907 – December 8, 1992) was an American magazine editor who edited ''The New Yorker'' from 1952 until 1987. Early life and education Shawn was born William Chon on August 31, 1907, in Chicago, Illinoi ...

—whom Kahn calls "The Iron Mouse." His 1987 diary was released as ''Year of Change: More about the New Yorker and Me'' (New York: Viking, 1988).

Death

Kahn died in a traffic accident on May 28, 1994, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, at the age of 77. "E. J. Kahn Jr., 77, Writer for The New Yorker," by Richard D. Lyons, The New York Times, May 29, 1994
/ref>

Bibliography

Books

* ''Army Life,'' 1942 * ''G. I. Jungle,'' 1943 * '' McNair: Educator of an Army,'' 1945 * ''Fighting Divisions,'' 1945 * ''The Voice,'' 1947(Sinatra) * ''Who, Me?,'' 1949 * ''The Peculiar War,'' 1952 * ''The Merry Partners: The Age and Stage of Harrigan and Hart,'' 1955 * ''The Big Drink: The Story of

,'' 1960 * ''The A Reporter Here and There,'' 1961 * ''The Stragglers,'' 1962 * ''The World of Swope,'' 1964 * ''A Reporter in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

,'' 1966 * ''The Separated People: A Look at Contemporary

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

,'' 1968 * ''Harvard: Through Change and Through Storm,'' 1969 * ''The

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Underground Gourmet,'' 1972 * ''The First Decade: A Report on Independent Black Africa,'' 1972 * ''Fraud: The United States Postal Inspection Service and Some of the Fools and Knaves It Has Known,'' 1973 * ''The American People,'' 1973 * ''The China Hands: America's Foreign Service Officers and What Befell Them,'' 1975 * ''

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

from Rabun Gap to Tybee Light,'' 1978 * ''Far-Flung and Footloose,'' 1979 * ''

and Me,'' 1979 * ''Jock: The Life and Times of

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was an American venture capitalist, sportsman, philanthropist, newspaper publisher, film producer and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New ...

,'' 1981 * ''The Staffs of Life,'' 1985 * ''The Problem Solvers: A History of Arthur D. Little, Inc.,'' 1986 * ''Year of Change: More about the New Yorker and Me,'' 1988. * ''Supermarketer to the World: The Story of

Dwayne Andreas Dwayne Orville Andreas (March 4, 1918 – November 16, 2016), was one of the leading farm industrialists of the 20th century. He was often called the Soybean King. He was former CEO and chairman of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Under his l ...

,'' 1991.

Essays and reporting

* * Profile of US Representative Jacob K. Javits. * * Refugees and Displaced Persons (DPs). ——————— ;Notes

References

External links

''New Yorker'' Obituary by Bruce Bliven, June 13, 1994 issue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Ely Jacques Jr. 1916 births 1994 deaths American male journalists Journalists from New York City Horace Mann School alumni Harvard University alumni Columbia University faculty The New Yorker people The New Yorker staff writers United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Briarcliff Manor, New York 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers