Matthew Josephson
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Matthew Josephson (February 15, 1899 – March 13, 1978) was an American historian, biographer and journalist. He authored works on French novelists of the 19th century, and on U.S. political and economic history of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He popularized the term " robber baron" in his best-selling 1934 book ''The Robber Barons'' about the first American tycoons.


Biography

He was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York on February 15, 1899, to
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrant parents Julius and Sarah (née Kasindorf) Josephson. His father was from Iasi,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and his mother from Rostov-na-Donu,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Julius Josephson was a successful printer who became a bank vice president before his death in 1925. Matthew graduated 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 1920 and married Hannah Geffen. They lived in Europe in the 1920s. His wife, librarian of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
and an author in her own right, worked closely with her husband on various projects throughout their careers. In 1945, she and
Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), and his memoir, ''Exile's Return'' ( ...
edited '' Aragon, Poet of the Resistance''. Matthew and Hannah Josephson collaborated on ''Al Smith: Hero of the Cities'' (1969). They had two sons, Eric and Carl. In the 1920s, Josephson immersed himself in literature and the arts. He became "an advocate of
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
and art for art's sake". He published a collection of experimental poetry, ''Galimathias'' (1923). He edited '' Broom: An International Magazine of the Arts'' (1922–1924), and later contributed to the '' transition'' literary journal. He wrote his first biography of a novelist, '' Zola and His Time'', in 1928. The biography was credited with providing source material for the
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning film, '' The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937). The onset of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
changed Josephson's focus from literature to politics and history. He edited ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'' from 1931 to 1932. He had articles appear in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'',''
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 ...
'', and ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
''. He published a biography of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
in 1932. Influenced by economic historian Charles A. Beard, Josephson wrote his most successful book, ''The Robber Barons'' (1934), which he dedicated to Charles and Mary Beard. The book quickly made the best-seller list and secured Josephson's national reputation. He followed it with more full-length works of a political nature including ''The Politicos'' in 1938, in which Josephson served—along with writers such as
Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer, literary critic, and journalist. He is widely regarded as one of the most important literary critics of the 20th century. Wilson began his career as a journalist, writing ...
,
Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...
, and Malcolm Cowley—as a spokesman for left-leaning intellectuals who were dissatisfied with the social and political status quo. Josephson wrote two memoirs, ''Life Among the Surrealists'' (1962) and ''Infidel in the Temple'' (1967). He died on March 13, 1978, at the
Community Hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, i ...
in
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.


Legacy

Josephson's papers are kept at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in the
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
Collection of American Literature.


Bibliography

*
Galimathias
' (1923) *'' Zola and His Time'' (1928, biography) *''Portrait of the Artist as American'' (1930) *''
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
'' (1932, biography) *''Nazi Culture: The Brown Darkness Over Germany'' (1933) *
The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists
' (1934) *

' (1938, nonfiction) *''The President Makers: The Culture of Politics and Leadership in an Age of Enlightenment, 1896–1919'' (1940, nonfiction) *''
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
: A Realistic Biography of the Great Romantic'' (1942, biography) *''Empire of the Air:
Juan Trippe Juan Terry Trippe (June 27, 1899 – April 3, 1981) was an American commercial aviation pioneer, entrepreneur and the founder of Pan American World Airways, one of the iconic airlines of the 20th century. He was involved in the introduction of t ...
and the Struggle for World Airways'' (1943) *'' Stendhal: or The Pursuit of Happiness'' (1946, biography) *''
Sidney Hillman Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor ...
: Statesman of American Labor'' (1952, biography) *
Union House, Union Bar: The History of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union, AFL-CIO
' (1956, nonfiction) *'' Edison'' (1959, biography) *''Life Among the Surrealists'' (1962, memoir) *''Infidel in the Temple: A Memoir of the 1930s'' (1967, memoir) *''
Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...
: Hero of the Cities; a Political Portrait Drawing on the Papers of Frances Perkins'' (1969, co-written with Hannah Josephson) *''The Money Lords: The Great Finance Capitalists, 1925–1950'' (1972, nonfiction)


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* * Matthew Josephson Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Josephson, Matthew 1899 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American historians 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American poets American male biographers American male journalists American male poets American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni Historians of the United States Jewish American historians Journalists from New York City Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters