Catherine Drinker Bowen
Encyclopedia
Catherine Drinker Bowen was born as Catherine Drinker on the Haverford College
campus on January 1, 1897, to a prominent Quaker
family. She was an accomplished violin
ist who studied for a musical career at the Peabody Institute
and the Juilliard School of Music, but ultimately decided to become a writer. She had no formal writing education and no academic career, but became a bestselling American biographer and writer despite criticism from academics. Her earliest biographies were about musicians. Bowen did all her own research, without hiring research assistants, and sometimes took the controversial step of interviewing subjects without taking notes.
In 1958, she won the National Book Award
in nonfiction for The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634), a biography of the prominent lawyer of Elizabethan England. In addition, Ms. Bowen received the 1957 Philadelphia Award and the 1962 Women's National Book Association award. Her last book, Family Portrait
, received critical acclaim, and was a Literary Guild selection. During her lifetime, she was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Philadelphia Award. At the time of her death in 1973, she was working on a biography of Benjamin Franklin
, which was published posthumously.
Catherine married Ezra Bowen, Chair of Economics at Lehigh University
and author of "Social Economics." Survived by her daughter, Catherine Prince (died Seattle, WA, 1974), son, Ezra Bowen (died Westport, CT, 1996), Sports Illustrated and Time-Life
writer and editor; grandsons, Ezra D. Bowen and Matthew Bowen, and now great-grandchildren, Leslie R. Bowen and Elizabeth D. Bowen. She is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery
in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
.
"Friends and Fiddlers" (1935). See The Chamber Music Journal, 21(1),6(2010)
"Rufus Starbuck's Wife" (1932)
See also C. Giffuni, Bulletin of Bibliography, 50, 331-337(1993)
(inventor of the iron lung
) and one sister, Ernesta.
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
campus on January 1, 1897, to a prominent Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
family. She was an accomplished violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist who studied for a musical career at the Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
and the Juilliard School of Music, but ultimately decided to become a writer. She had no formal writing education and no academic career, but became a bestselling American biographer and writer despite criticism from academics. Her earliest biographies were about musicians. Bowen did all her own research, without hiring research assistants, and sometimes took the controversial step of interviewing subjects without taking notes.
In 1958, she won the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
in nonfiction for The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634), a biography of the prominent lawyer of Elizabethan England. In addition, Ms. Bowen received the 1957 Philadelphia Award and the 1962 Women's National Book Association award. Her last book, Family Portrait
Family Portrait
Family Portrait may refer to:portraiture painting* a genre of portrait painting** Family Portrait or The Bellelli Family, a portrait by Degas** Portrait of the Family Hinlopen by Metsu** Portrait of the Vendramin Family by Titianphotography...
, received critical acclaim, and was a Literary Guild selection. During her lifetime, she was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Philadelphia Award. At the time of her death in 1973, she was working on a biography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, which was published posthumously.
Catherine married Ezra Bowen, Chair of Economics at Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
and author of "Social Economics." Survived by her daughter, Catherine Prince (died Seattle, WA, 1974), son, Ezra Bowen (died Westport, CT, 1996), Sports Illustrated and Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
writer and editor; grandsons, Ezra D. Bowen and Matthew Bowen, and now great-grandchildren, Leslie R. Bowen and Elizabeth D. Bowen. She is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the site of many notable burials, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992...
in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Bala Cynwyd is a community in Lower Merion Township which is located on the Main Line in southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at US Route 1 . It was originally two separate towns, Bala and Cynwyd, but is commonly treated as a single community...
.
Books
- Beloved Friend: The Story of Tchaikowsky and Nadejda Von Meck (1937)
- Free artist: The story of Anton and Nicholas Rubinstein (1939)
- Yankee from Olympus: Justice HolmesOliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...
and His Family (1944) - The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke (1957)
- Adventures of a Biographer (1959)
- Francis BaconFrancis BaconFrancis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
: The Temper of a Man (1963) - Miracle at PhiladelphiaMiracle at PhiladelphiaMiracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention is a work of historical non-fiction, written by Catherine Drinker Bowen and originally published in 1966. Bowen recounts the Philadelphia Convention, a meeting in 1787 that created the United States Constitution. Bowen draws much...
: The Story of the Constitutional ConventionPhiladelphia ConventionThe Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...
, May to September 1787 (1966), which is #54 on list of books in the most number of American Libraries. http://www.libraryspot.com/lists/listoclc.htm - John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
and the American Revolution - Bernard DeVotoBernard DeVotoBernard Augustine DeVoto was an American historian and author who specialized in the history of the American West.- Life and work :He was born in Ogden, Utah...
: Historian, critic, and fighter - The Most Dangerous Man in America: Scenes from the Life of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
- Family Portrait
- Story of the oak tree
- Lord of the law
- A History of Lehigh UniversityLehigh UniversityLehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
- Biography: The Craft and the Calling (1968)
- The writing of biography
"Friends and Fiddlers" (1935). See The Chamber Music Journal, 21(1),6(2010)
"Rufus Starbuck's Wife" (1932)
See also C. Giffuni, Bulletin of Bibliography, 50, 331-337(1993)
Family
Catherine was the daughter of Henry Sturgis Drinker and had four brothers, Harry (a renowned attorney and chamber music composer / conductor), Jim, Cecil (founder of the Harvard School of Public Health) and PhilipPhilip Drinker
Philip Drinker was an industrial hygienist. With Louis Agassiz Shaw, he invented the first widely used iron lung in 1928.-Family and early life:...
(inventor of the iron lung
Iron lung
A negative pressure ventilator is a form of medical ventilator that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability....
) and one sister, Ernesta.