Kenneth R. Manning (born December 11, 1947) is an American academic professor and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He is currently the Thomas Meloy Professor of Rhetoric and of the History of Science at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

Early life and education

Born in

Dillon, South Carolina Dillon is a city in Dillon County in eastern South Carolina, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Dillon County. It was established on December 22, 1888. Both the name of the city and county comes from James W. Dillon, an ear ...

and educated in local schools, Manning eventually moved to

North Haven, Connecticut North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 24,253. North Haven is home of the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences, the School of Nur ...

, soon afterwards. Manning entered

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1966 and completed his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1970, his Master of Arts (M.A.) in 1971, and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1974. His dissertation, ''The Emergence of the Weierstrassian Approach To Complex Analysis'', was supervised by

I. Bernard Cohen I. Bernard Cohen (1 March 1914 – 20 June 2003) was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of the history of science at Harvard University and the author of many books on the history of science and, in particular, Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin. ...

. While he was doing his graduate studies, Manning helped guide fellow Dillon native

Ben Bernanke Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Dur ...

, who would eventually become the Chairman of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

, to apply to Harvard. He helped assuage the Bernanke family, who were concerned that Ben would "lose his Jewish identity" if he went to Harvard, that "there were Jews in Boston."David Wessel, ''In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic'' (New York: Crown Business, 2009), p. 70.

Career

Manning has been on the faculty at MIT since 1974. Manning's 1983 book, '' Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just'', depicts the life and career of

Ernest Everett Just Ernest Everett Just (August 14, 1883 – October 27, 1941) was a pioneering African-American biologist, academic and science writer. Just's primary legacy is his recognition of the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organis ...

, who was born in Charleston, South Carolina and went on to become a world-famous biologist. Manning won several awards for the book and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography. Manning was also inducted into the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the Governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significance ...

by former South Carolina governor,

Richard Riley Richard Wilson Riley (born January 2, 1933) is an American politician, the United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Riley is the only D ...

. Manning's other writings have appeared in numerous scholarly publications. He is currently working on a book manuscript that examines health care for African Americans and the role and experience of blacks in the American medical profession from 1860 until 1980.

Bibliography

*Kenneth R. Manning (September 1983) ''Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just''. Oxford University Press. *Kenneth R. Manning (September 1991) ''MIT: Shaping the Future''. The MIT Press. *Kenneth R. Manning, Bayla Singer Asa J. Davis (1995) ''Blueprint for Change: The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer''. Queens Borough Public Library.

References

External links

Kenneth Manning's home page at M.I.T.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Kenneth 1947 births Living people People from Dillon, South Carolina People from North Haven, Connecticut Harvard University alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty