Robert Kanigel (born May 28, 1946) is an American biographer and science writer, known as the author of seven books and more than 400 articles, essays, and reviews.

Early life and education

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 ...

, Kanigel graduated from

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

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 ...

, and received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

Career

After college, he held three engineering jobs before becoming a freelance writer in 1970. Over the next 30 years, Kanigel lived and wrote in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His articles appeared in magazines including the ''Johns Hopkins Magazine,

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

Wilson Quarterly ''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ide ...

, Change, American Health,

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, Science 85,

The Sciences ''The Sciences'' was a magazine published from 1961 to 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences. Each issue contained articles that discussed science issues with cultural relevance, illustrated with fine art and an occasional cartoon. The perio ...

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

, Longevity, National Observer,'' and ''Human Behavior''. His first book, ''Apprentice to Genius: The Making of a Scientific Dynasty'', was published in 1986. This was followed by '' The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan'' in 1991; ''The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency'' in 1999; ''High Season: How One French Riviera Town Has Seduced Travelers for Two Thousand Years'' in 2002; and ''Faux Real: Genuine Leather and 200 Years of Inspired Fakes'' in 2007. ''Vintage Reading: From Plato to Bradbury, a Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books'', published in 1998, is a compilation of 80 book reviews. In 1999, Kanigel became professor of science writing at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, where he helped start its Graduate Program in Science Writing, which he directed for seven years. In 2011, he returned to live and write in Baltimore. He is currently working on a biography of

Jane Jacobs Jane Isabel Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book ''The Death and Life of Great American Ci ...

. ''On An Irish Island'' is an ensemble biography of the scholars, linguists, and writers who visited Ireland's

Blasket Islands The Blasket Islands () are an uninhabited group of islands off the west coast of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The last island to hold a significant population, Great Blasket Island, was abandoned in 1954 due to population decl ...

during the early twentieth century. While doing research on one of the subjects of the book,

George Derwent Thomson George Derwent Thomson (; 1903 – 3 February 1987) was a British classical scholar, Marxist philosopher, and scholar of the Irish language. Classical scholar Thomson studied Classics at King's College, Cambridge, where he attained First ...

, Kanigel came across the ideas of

Milman Parry Milman Parry (June 23, 1902 – December 3, 1935) was an American Classicist whose theories on the origin of Homer's works have revolutionized Homeric studies to such a fundamental degree that he has been described as the " Darwin of Homeri ...

, the "Darwin of Homeric Studies". Kanigel followed his interest and wrote a biography released in 2021 as ''Hearing Homer's Song: The Brief Life and Big Idea of Milman Parry''.

Awards and honors

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated dis ...

, 2008 *

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., president and chief executive officer of General Motors. The Sloan Foundation makes grants to support origina ...

grant, 2005 * Jennie Mae and Ellis L. Krause Lecture,

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, United States. Its campus encompasses approximately six city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 students. History Marietta College began as the Muskin ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, 2001
Class of 1960 Innovation in Education Award
MIT, 2003 * Alfred and Julia Hill Lecture on Science, Society, and Mass Media,

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, 1999 * Global Business Book Awards (

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

/Booz-Allen & Hamilton) finalist, biography, 1997 *

American Society of Journalists and Authors The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) was founded in 1948 as the Society of Magazine Writers, and is the professional association of independent nonfiction writers in the United States. History The organization was established in ...

Author of the Year, 1998 * Elizabeth Lewisohn Eisenstein Prize
National Coalition of Independent Scholars
1994 * Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, technology book series, 1992 *

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize currently has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), his ...

finalist, science and technology, 1991 * James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, American Chemical Society, 1989 *

Marine Biological Laboratory The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...

Science Journalism Program,

Woods Hole Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, 1988 * Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Best Articles of the Year, gold award, 1988 * Smolar Award for Excellence in American Jewish Journalism, Council of Jewish Federations, public affairs, 1980 * A.D. Emmart Award for Writing in the Humanities, Maryland, 1979

Works

Nonfiction

;Biographies: * ''Apprentice to Genius: The Making of a Scientific Dynasty''. Macmillan hardcover, 1986.

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

paperback, 1993. Taiwanese edition, Commonwealth Publishing, 1998. Chinese edition, Shanghai Scientific, 2001. * '' The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan''.

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjo ...

hardcover, 1991. U.K. hardcover, Scribner's, 1991.

Washington Square Press Atria Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster. The publishing group launched as Atria Books in 2002. The Atria Publishing Group was later created internally at Simon & Schuster to house a number of im ...

paperback, 1992. U.K. paperback, Abacus, 1992. Indian edition, Rupa, 1992. German edition, Vieweg Verlag, 1993. Cassette book, National Library for the Blind, 1993. Japanese edition, Kousakusha, 1994. Korean edition, Science Books, 2000. Chinese editions, Shanghai Scientific, 2002, 2008. Italian edition, Rizzoli, 2003. Thai edition, Matichon, 2007. Audio edition, Blackstone Audio, 2007. Greek edition, Travlos, 2008. * ''The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency''. Viking hardcover, 1997. U.K. hardcover, Little, Brown 1997. Penguin paperback, 1999. U.K. paperback, Abacus, 2000. MIT Press paperback, 2005. * ''Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs''. Knopf, 2016. * ;Guides: * ''Vintage Reading: From Plato to Bradbury, a Personal Tour of Some of the World's Best Books''. Bancroft Press, 1998. E-book edition, 2010. * ''Ideas Into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing''. 2004. Co-author: Elise Hancock ;History: * ''High Season: How One French Riviera Town Has Seduced Travelers for Two Thousand Years''.

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

hardcover, 2002. UK hardcover igh Season in NiceLittle, Brown, 2002. UK paperback, Abacus, 2003. * ''Faux Real: Genuine Leather and 200 Years of Inspired Fakes''.

Joseph Henry Press Joseph Henry Press (JHP) is an American publisher which is an imprint of the National Academies Press, publisher for the United States National Academy of Sciences. The imprint is named after American scientist Joseph Henry. The imprint publishes ...

hardback, 2007.

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press, also known as Penn Press, is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The press was originally incorporated with b ...

paperback, 2010. ZheJiang University Press Chinese edition, 2013. * ''On An Irish Island''. Knopf. 2012.

References

External links

*
MIT Faculty Page

Amazon author page for Robert Kanigel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanigel, Robert 1946 births American biographers American male biographers American science writers Living people Writers from Brooklyn Historians from New York (state)