Ferdinand Lundberg
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Lundberg was a 20th century economist
and journalist
who studied the history of American
wealth
and power.
and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia University
.
. He held several positions in his lifetime: a journalist with United Press International
, the Chicago Daily News
, and the New York Herald Tribune
(1927–1934); and editor
for the Twentieth Century Fund. In 1934 he resigned from the Herald Tribune to do research for his two major muckraking books of 1936 and 1937. He also lectured as an adjunct professor of social philosophy at New York University
from 1952 to 1968.
He was the author of a 1936 social biography
of William Randolph Hearst
entitled Imperial Hearst, detailing his political involvements, and of America's Sixty Families
, an exposure of the leading groups in business and finance. A later exploration of American wealth entitled The Rich and the Super-Rich
is less critical. He co-wrote, with Carol Bram, a strong critique of the US charter called Cracks in the Constitution. In Scoundrels All (1968), a collection of sceptical quotes on politicians, he admits to a preference for H. L. Mencken
. Along with a psychiatrist, Dr. Marynia Farnham, Lundberg wrote a 1947 book titled, Modern Woman: The Lost Sex, whose contention was that contemporary women suffered from neuroses they were likely to pass on to the next generation.
At the time of his death he lived in Chappaqua, New York
.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who studied the history of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
and power.
Background
Ferdinand Edgar Lundberg, of Swedish and Norwegian parentage was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Career
He started working in Chicago in 1924, transferred to New York in 1926 and joined the Wall Street Journal staff in 1927. He became a specialist for financial reporting and he covered the Wall Street Crash of 1929Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
. He held several positions in his lifetime: a journalist with United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
, and the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
(1927–1934); and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
for the Twentieth Century Fund. In 1934 he resigned from the Herald Tribune to do research for his two major muckraking books of 1936 and 1937. He also lectured as an adjunct professor of social philosophy at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
from 1952 to 1968.
He was the author of a 1936 social biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
entitled Imperial Hearst, detailing his political involvements, and of America's Sixty Families
America's Sixty Families
America's 60 Families is a critical exposure by Ferdinand Lundberg of the leading groups in business and finance from 1896 to 1936. It traces the rise of the biggest industrial trusts from 1900 to 1920 and how their control passed over to finance capital after 1920...
, an exposure of the leading groups in business and finance. A later exploration of American wealth entitled The Rich and the Super-Rich
The Rich and the Super-Rich
The Rich and the Super-Rich. A Study in the Power of Money Today is a study by Ferdinand Lundberg conducted in 1968. In this study, Lundberg tries to bring his findings from America's Sixty Families up to date and into the field of elite studies...
is less critical. He co-wrote, with Carol Bram, a strong critique of the US charter called Cracks in the Constitution. In Scoundrels All (1968), a collection of sceptical quotes on politicians, he admits to a preference for H. L. Mencken
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the...
. Along with a psychiatrist, Dr. Marynia Farnham, Lundberg wrote a 1947 book titled, Modern Woman: The Lost Sex, whose contention was that contemporary women suffered from neuroses they were likely to pass on to the next generation.
At the time of his death he lived in Chappaqua, New York
Chappaqua, New York
Chappaqua is a hamlet and census-designated place in northern Westchester County, New York. As of the 2010 census, following a major revision to the delineation of its boundaries by the Census Bureau, the population was 1,436...
.
Further reading
- Imperial Hearst;: A social biography (1936) (reprinted with a biographical preface on Lundberg by Charles A. BeardCharles A. BeardCharles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
(vii-x). - America's Sixty Families (1937)
- Who controls industry?: And other questions raised by critics of America's 60 families ( 1938)
- The Treason of the People (1954)
- The coming world transformation (1963)
- The Rich and the Super-Rich: A Study in the Power of Money Today (1968)
- The Rockefeller Syndrome (1968)
- Cracks in the Constitution (1980)
- The Myth of Democracy (1989)
- Politicians and Other Scoundrels (1992)
- The Natural Depravity of Mankind (1994)
Other sources
- Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. (1938) Swedes in America, 1638-1938 (The Swedish American Tercentenary Association. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press) ISBN 978-0838303269