Stephan Thernstrom (November 5, 1934 – January 23, 2025) was an American academic and historian who was the Winthrop Research Professor of History Emeritus 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 ...

. He was a specialist in ethnic and social history and editor of the ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups''. He and his wife Abigail Thernstrom were prominent opponents of affirmative action in education and according to the ''New York Times,'' they "lead the conservative charge against racial preference in America."

Early life and education

Thernstrom was born and raised in a working-class family in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

. His father was the son of a Swedish-born immigrant laborer and worked on the railroad. Thernstrom was raised a

Christian Scientist Activists, politicians, and military figures Activists *Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone (1882-1985) – Native American singer and activist * Bonnie Carroll – President and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) *Henry ...

, but was disillusioned with the faith. His family later moved to

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

. Thernstrom received his bachelor's degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and his Ph.D. from

, working with Oscar Handlin.

Career

Thernstrom held faculty appointments at Harvard University,

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. He returned to Harvard with an appointment as a full professor in 1973. From 1978 to 1979 Thernstrom was Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He is the author of several prize-winning books including ''Poverty and Progress: Social Mobility in the 19th Century'' and ''The Other Bostonians: Poverty and Progress in the American Metropolis, 1880-1970'', which won the Bancroft Prize in American History and was described by

The 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 ...

as "the best piece of quantitative history yet published." Thernstrom has served as an expert witness for the defense in more than two dozen federal cases involving claims of racial discrimination in schools. He is the co-author of a brief in "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle," challenging the constitutionality of Seattle's racial balancing plan. He co-authored with his wife Abigail Thernstrom ''No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning,'' named by both the

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 ...

and the American School Board Journal as one of the best books of 2003 and the winner of the 2007 Fordham Prize for Distinguished Scholarship. They also co-authored ''America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible'', a comprehensive history of race relations which the New York Times Book Review named as one of the notable books of 1997. Their writings had been awarded the Waldo G. Leland Prize, R.R. Hawkins Award, and the Fordham Foundation Prize, 1997

Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that has been one of the most influential funders of the conservative movement. The foundation ...

prizes for Outstanding Intellectual Achievement, and the 2004 Peter Shaw Memorial Award given by the

National Association of Scholars The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit politically conservative education advocacy organization. It advocates against multiculturalism, diversity policies, and against courses focused on race and gender i ...

, an organization of conservative scholars. Their work criticizes

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

programs. According to the ''New York Times,'' "The couple are much in demand on the conservative talk-show circuit, where they forcefully argue that racial preferences are wrong, divisive and, as a tool to help minorities, overrated. They serve on the boards of conservative and libertarian public-policy institutes."

Personal life and death

Thernstrom married Abigail in 1959. They had two children, Melanie Thernstrom of

Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, a writer, and Samuel Thernstrom. He died on January 23, 2025, at the age of 90.Stephan Thernstrom, historian and affirmative-action foe, dies at 90

Bibliography

* ''Poverty and progress; social mobility in a nineteenth century city'' (1964
online
* "''Yankee City'' Revisited: The Perils of Historical Naïveté." ''American Sociological Review'' (1965) 30#2 : 234-24
online
* "The Case of Boston." ''Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society'', (1967) vol. 79, pp. 109–122
online
* "Notes on the historical study of social mobility." ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 10.2 (1968): 162-17
online
* ''Nineteenth-century cities; essays in the new urban history'' (1969) coedito
online
* ''Poverty, planning, and politics in the new Boston: the origins of ABCD'' (1969
online
* ''The other Bostonians; poverty and progress in the American metropolis, 1880-1970'' (1973
online
* ''Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups'' editor (1980
online
* ''A history of the American people'' (1984
online
* "Reflections on the Shape of the River." ''UCLA Law Review'' 46 (1998): 1583+ with Abigail Thernstrom
online
* ''Beyond the color line: new perspectives on race and ethnicity in America'' (2002
online
* ''No excuses: Closing the racial gap in learning'' (2004), with Abigail M. Thernstrom. * ''America in black and white: One nation, indivisible'' (2009), with Abigail M. Thernstrom.

Notes

External links

* ttp://www.bradleyfdn.org/Library/pdfs/SThernstromremarks.pdf Thernstrom's Bradley Prize acceptance remarks
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thernstrom, Stephan 1934 births 2025 deaths Academics of the University of Cambridge American people of Swedish descent Brandeis University faculty Harvard University alumni Harvard University Department of History faculty Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University alumni People from Port Huron, Michigan University of California, Los Angeles faculty Bancroft Prize winners Opposition to affirmative action