Simeon Strunsky (July 23, 1879 – February 5, 1948) was a Russian-born

Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

essayist and editorialist. He is best remembered as a prominent editorialist for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' for more than two decades.

Biography

Early years

Simeon Strunsky was born July 23, 1879, in

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, then part of the

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and today part of

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. His parents were Isidor S. and Perl Wainstein. He 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 ...

, where he was a member of the Philolexian Society, in 1900.

Career

Strunsky was a department editor of the

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from 1900 to 1906, editorial writer on the ''New York Evening Post'' from 1906 to 1913, and subsequently was literary editor of that paper until 1920. Strunsky's columns also appeared in ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', '' Bookman'', ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'', and ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

''. He wrote: * ''Through the Outlooking Glass with Theodore Roosevelt'' (1912) * ''The Patient Observer'' (1911) * ''Belshazzar Court, or Village Life in New York City'' (1914): "The simplicity and kindliness of human nature...in the complexities of the modern city". * ''Post-Impressions'' (1914) * ''Little Journeys Towards Paris. By W. Hohenzollern.'' (1918) Strunsky joined the

in 1924 and was on staff until his death in

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, after three months of hospitalization. He was married to Socialist activist and historian Manya Gordon; they had a son and a daughter. He had a son, Robert Strunsky, by his first wife, Rebecca Slobodkin (d. 1906). Strunsky's most notable contributions to the Times were his editorial-page essays titled "Topics of the Times." Although it now competes with such departments as "Editorial Observer" and is infrequently seen nowadays, "Topics of the Times" remains a popular feature of the paper.

Death and legacy

Simeon Strunsky died on February 5, 1948, aged 68.

Books

* " Sinbad And His Friends." Henry Holt And Company, 1921. * ''King Akhnaton.'' Longmans, Green & Co., 1928. * "No Mean City" E.P.Dutton and Company Inc., 1944

Footnotes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strunsky, Simeon 1879 births 1948 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Russian-Jewish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni American essayists American satirists Journalists from New York City Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters