Jean Christopher Herold (11 May 1919 – 10 December 1964) was a Czech-American

university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. They are often an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by scholars in the field. They pro ...

editor and author. While holding an editorship for

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based 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 la ...

from 1946 to 1956, Herold edited ''

Columbia Encyclopedia The ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' is a one-volume encyclopedia produced by Columbia University Press and, in the last edition, sold by the Gale Group. First published in 1935, and continuing its relationship with Columbia University Columbi ...

'' articles about

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early Eu ...

. From 1956 to 1960, Herold was the editor of

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

. As an author, Herold primarily wrote French history books on

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

while also covering

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

and

Madame de Staël Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

. He won the 1959

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five US annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists a ...

with ''Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël'' and received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1960. Herold was also given fellowships from the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

and the

Society of American Historians The Society of American Historians, founded in 1939, encourages and honors literary distinction in the writing of history and biography about American topics. The approximately 300 members include professional historians, independent scholars, jou ...

Early life and education

Herold was born on 11 May 1919 in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. For his post-secondary education, Herold attended the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

during the late 1930s and studied literature. After moving to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1939, Herold went to

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 ...

for a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in the early 1940s.

Career

After completing his studies, Herold was a member of the

Military Intelligence Corps The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the U.S. Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic warfare ...

from 1942 to 1945. In 1946, Herold started a decade long editorship tenure with

. During this time period, Herold worked on

articles for the ''

''. Herold had "rewrote some 10 million articles" while holding the position of

assistant 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, and ...

. In 1956, Herold was selected by

to become their editor. He held the position until his replacement was selected in 1960. Outside of editing, Herold wrote his first book, ''The Swiss Without Halos'', in 1948 while at Columbia. From the 1950s to 1960s, Herold primarily wrote about

during his literary career in French history. In 1952, Herold wrote a children's book about

with ''Joan, Maid of France'' while Frederick T. Chapman provided the drawings. After starting the work in 1953, Herold released his

Madame de Stael Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

biography in 1958. In 1961, Herold released a book about women who lived in France between the 17th to 19th centuries called ''Love in Five Temperaments''. His publication focused on

Madame de Tencin Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * Madame (1961 ...

, Madame de Staal de Launay,

Mademoiselle Aisse (abbreviated as ''Mlle'' or ''M'') may refer to: * Mademoiselle (title), the French-language equivalent of the title "miss" Film and television * ''Mademoiselle'' (1966 film), a French-British drama directed by Tony Richardson * ''Mademoiselle ...

Mademoiselle Clairon Clair Josèphe Hippolyte Leris (25 January 1723 – 29 January 1803), known as Mademoiselle Clairon or La Clairon was a French actress, born at Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Hainaut, the daughter of an army sergeant. She is primarily known for devel ...

, and

Julie de Lespinasse Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

Awards and honors

In 1958, ''Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël'' received the gold medal for nonfiction as part of the

California Book Awards The California Book Awards are annual literary awards given to California Writers and Publishers since 1931. The event is sponsored by Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. The California Book Awards are funded by an endowment from Dr. Ma ...

. The following year, ''Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël'' won the 1959

. The following year, he received a

in 1960 studying French literature. Additional fellowships Herold received were from the

and the

Death and personal life

On 10 December 1964, Herold died at

Columbia–Presbyterian Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...

. He had one child and was previously married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herold, J. Christopher 1919 births 1964 deaths Writers from Brno Czech male writers Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States National Book Award winners Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Czech editors