Martin Luther Kilson Jr. (February 14, 1931 – April 24, 2019) was an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He was the first black academic to be appointed a full professor at

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 was later the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government from 1988 until his retirement in 1999.

Early life

Martin Luther Kilson Jr. was born on February 14, 1931, in

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

, to Martin and Louisa Kilson. The family moved to

Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. History Lenape The historical territ ...

, and the younger Kilson attended Ambler High School before graduating at the top of his class at Lincoln University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1953. He was granted a John Hay Whitney Fellowship and completed his education at

, graduating with a master's degree in 1958 and a doctorate the following year. Kilson used a

Ford Foundation Fellowship The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

to undertake field research in West Africa.

Career

Kilson returned to Harvard and accepted a lectureship at the university in 1962; he was appointed assistant professor in 1967. Two years later, he became Harvard's first fully tenured African-American academic. Kilson was awarded 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 1975 and became the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government at Harvard in 1988. At the start of his academic career, Kilson became known for his research into

African American studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

, and became an adviser for the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard. Kilson also compiled works relating to

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the '' comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relat ...

, focusing within the field on

African studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

. Kilson's 1966 book, ''Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone'', was reviewed extensively. After retiring from teaching in 1999, Kilson continued to write and occasionally lecture. In 2002, he wrote a review for ''The Black Commentator'' critical of

Randall Kennedy Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American legal scholar. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard University and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in American l ...

for the title of his book, '' Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word''. In 2010, Kilson was featured in Harvard's annual

W. E. B. DuBois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relative ...

lectures. He also wrote his final book, ''The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880–2012'', which was published in 2014.

Personal life

Kilson and his wife Marion Dusser de Barenne had three children and they lived in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...

. He died on April 24, 2019, from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

. His alma mater Lincoln University had planned to present Kilson with an honorary degree at its commencement ceremony in spring 2019.

Selected bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilson, Martin Luther 1931 births 2019 deaths African-American political scientists 20th-century American political scientists American political scientists Harvard University faculty Harvard University alumni Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni People from Ambler, Pennsylvania People from East Rutherford, New Jersey People from Lexington, Massachusetts Academics from New Jersey 20th-century American social scientists 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers American Africanists Black studies scholars African-American male writers