Kenneth Silverman
Kenneth Eugene Silverman (February 5, 1936 – July 7, 2017) was an American biographer and educator. He won a Pulitzer Prize and a Bancroft Prize for his 1984 biography of Cotton Mather, The Life and Times of Cotton Mather. Silverman, who specialized in Colonial American literature, was a professor of English at New York University until his retirement in 2001.
Also recorded as Kenneth Eugene Silverman
Kenneth Silverman
- Born
- 1936 · Manhattan.
- Died
- 2017 · Manhattan.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- writer · university teacher · biographer · literary scholar
- Education
- Columbia University
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship · Bancroft Prize · Pulitzer Prize for Biography
- Languages
- English
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Kenneth Eugene Silverman (February 5, 1936 – July 7, 2017) was an American biographer and educator. He won a Pulitzer Prize and a Bancroft Prize for his 1984 biography of Cotton Mather, The Life and Times of Cotton Mather. Silverman, who specialized in Colonial American literature, was a professor of English at New York University until his retirement in 2001.
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wikidata · Q1738912 · wikipedia · Kenneth Silverman
In this article
Biography
Biography
Silverman was born February 5, 1936, in Manhattan. He was educated at Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University, where he received B.A. (1956), M.A. (1958) and Ph.D. (1964) degrees in English. Silverman was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes, he won an Edgar Award of the Mystery Writers of America for his 1991 biography of Edgar Allan Poe and the Christopher Literary Award of the Society of American Magicians for his work on Harry Houdini. Silverman died of lung cancer in Manhattan on July 7, 2017.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1936
Kenneth Silverman born at Manhattan.
2017
Kenneth Silverman died at Manhattan.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- New York City
Named but not plotted · 1
Manhattan.
Birth place
Books
• As Editor, Colonial American Poetry (Hafner Publishing Company, 1968) • Timothy Dwight (New York: Twayne, 1969) • A Cultural History of the American Revolution (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1976). • The Life and Times of Cotton Mather New York: Harper & Row, 1984. (1985 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, 1985 Bancroft Prize in American History),. • Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance (New York: HarperCollins, 1991). • Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss, American Self-Liberator, Europe's Eclipsing Sensation, World's Handcuff King and Prison Breaker - Nothing on Earth Can Hold Houdini a Prisoner!!! (1997) • Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F.B. Morse (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003). • Begin Again: A Biography of John Cage (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010),
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1738912: Kenneth Silverman
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Kenneth Silverman”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Magill's Literary Annual History and Biography, 1985, p. 256.
- 2.Smitty. Kenneth Silverman: Harry Houdini – Jewish Star of American History - Art Practical. Art Practical.
- 3.Grimes, William. Kenneth Silverman, Pulitzer-Winning Author, Dies at 81. The New York Times. July 10, 2017.
- 4.Silverman, Kenneth. A Cultural History of the American Revolution: Painting, Music, Literature, and the Theatre in the Colonies and the United States from the Treaty of Paris to the Inauguration of George Washington, 1763-1789. Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 1976-01-01. 9780690010794.
- 5.Silverman, Kenneth. The Life and Times of Cotton Mather. Harper & Row. 1984-03-01. 9780060152314.
- 6.Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: A Biography: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Harper Collins. 1992-11-04. 9780060923310.
- 7.Silverman, Kenneth. Houdini!: The Career of Ehrich Weiss: American Self-Liberator, Europe's Eclipsing Sensation, World's Handcuff King & Prison Brea. Perennial. 1997-10-01. 9780060928629.
- 8.Silverman, Kenneth. Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F. B. Morse. Alfred A. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 2010-04-07. 9780307434371.
- 9.Silverman, Kenneth. Begin Again: A Biography of John Cage. Alfred A. Knopf. 2010-01-01. 9781400044375.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1738912: Kenneth SilvermanWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,285 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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