Irwin Unger (May 2, 1927 – May 21, 2021) was an American historian and academic specializing in economic history, the history of the 1960s, and the history of the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

. He earned his Ph.D. from

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 ...

in 1958 and was Professor Emeritus of History at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Biography

Irwin Unger was 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 ...

on May 2, 1927. He was married to author and journalist Debi Unger; they collaborated on several books. Unger won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for History in 1965 for his book, '' The Greenback Era''. One of his last books, written in collaboration with Stanley Hirshson, a

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

historian, and Debi Unger, an editor at

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, is a 2014 biography of

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

. Unger died on May 21, 2021, at the age of 94.

Books

Among Unger's published books are: *''George Marshall'', (with Debi Unger and Stanley Hirshson, 2014) *''The Guggenheims: A Family History'', (with Debi Unger, 2005) *''LBJ : A Life'', (with Debi Unger, 1999) *''The Times Were a Changin': The Sixties Reader'' (with Debi Unger, 1998) *''The Best of Intentions: The

Great Society The Great Society was a series of domestic programs enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the United States between 1964 and 1968, aimed at eliminating poverty, reducing racial injustice, and expanding social welfare in the country. Johnso ...

Programs of Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon'' (1996) *''Turning Point, 1968'', (with Debi Unger, 1988) *''These United States: The Questions of Our Past'' (1978) *''The Vulnerable Years: The United States, 1896-1917'' (1977) *''The Movement: The American New Left 1959-1973'' (1973) *'' The Greenback Era'' (1964) In addition, Unger has written a number of textbooks on modern

American history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

References

External links

Faculty Profile of Irwin Unger, New York University
* 1927 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers New York University faculty City College of New York alumni Columbia University alumni Pulitzer Prize for History winners American male non-fiction writers Writers from New York City Economic historians {{US-historian-stub