Jon Meacham
Encyclopedia
Jon Meacham is executive editor and executive vice president at Random House
. A former editor of Newsweek
and a Pulitzer Prize
winning bestselling author
and a commentator on politics
, history, and religious faith
in America
, he is a contributing editor to Time magazine and editor-at-large of WNET
Public Media, the New York public television station.
, Meacham attended St. Nicholas School, the McCallie School and the University of the South
in Sewanee, Tennessee
, graduating summa cum laude in English Literature; he was salutatorian
and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is an initiate of the Alpha Tau Omega
fraternity and member of the Sewanee class of 1991.
An only child, Meacham spent his high school years living with his grandfather, Judge Ellis K. Meacham
. A legendary figure in Chattanooga and author of three Napoleonic-era maritime novels about the Bombay Marine of the East India Company
, Judge Meacham is credited with giving Meacham his interest in history, literature, and politics.
He and his wife, Margaret Keith Smythe Meacham, a native of Mississippi, University of Virginia
and Columbia University Teachers College graduate, former executive director of the Harlem Day Charter School, and a former programs officer with the Fund for Public Schools in New York, live in New York City
and Sewanee, Tennessee
, with their three children.
, and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers
, and the Making of a Nation, a historical portrait of the spiritual
foundation of America.
He edited Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement, a collection of distinguished nonfiction about the mid-century struggle against Jim Crow
.
Meacham's latest biography, American Lion
, is about Andrew Jackson
and his White House
circle. A bestseller, it was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
He is at work on biographies of Presidents Thomas Jefferson
and George H. W. Bush
.
, Clara Bingham, Charles Peters
, Mary Soames, Mika Brzezinski
, Joe Scarborough
, Jeremy McCarter, and Matthew Bowman. He is also supervising the publication of the letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
and four real-time e-books on Campaign 2012 by Politico's Mike Allen and Evan Thomas
.
, Meacham is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and a communicant of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, where he has served on the Vestry of the 180 year-old Episcopal parish. He is a former trustee and member of the Board of Regents of University of the South. Meacham is a Fellow of the Society of American Historians, a member of the Vestry of Trinity Church Wall Street, is a trustee of the Churchill Centre, and serves as National Board Chair of the Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. The Anti-Defamation League awarded Meacham the Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Prize. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University
in 2005 and holds five other honorary doctorates.
as a writer in January 1995, became national affairs editor in June of that year, and was named managing editor in November 1998 at age 29. In September 2006, he was promoted to editor. In August 2010 Meacham announced that he would depart Newsweek upon completion of the sale of the magazine by the Washington Post Company
.
He also written essays and reviews for The New York Times
, The New York Times Book Review
, The Washington Post
, and The Los Angeles Times Book Review.
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. A former editor of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning bestselling author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and a commentator on politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, history, and religious faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he is a contributing editor to Time magazine and editor-at-large of WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
Public Media, the New York public television station.
Personal
Born in Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, Meacham attended St. Nicholas School, the McCallie School and the University of the South
Sewanee, The University of the South
The University of the South is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church and its School of Theology is an official seminary of the church. The university's School of Letters offers graduate...
in Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee is an unincorporated locality in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States, treated by the U.S. Census as a census-designated place . The population was 2,361 at the 2000 census...
, graduating summa cum laude in English Literature; he was salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is an initiate of the Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...
fraternity and member of the Sewanee class of 1991.
An only child, Meacham spent his high school years living with his grandfather, Judge Ellis K. Meacham
Ellis K. Meacham
Ellis Kirby Meacham was an American attorney and judge who wrote three Napoleonic era nautical adventures.-Personal life and career:...
. A legendary figure in Chattanooga and author of three Napoleonic-era maritime novels about the Bombay Marine of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, Judge Meacham is credited with giving Meacham his interest in history, literature, and politics.
He and his wife, Margaret Keith Smythe Meacham, a native of Mississippi, University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
and Columbia University Teachers College graduate, former executive director of the Harlem Day Charter School, and a former programs officer with the Fund for Public Schools in New York, live in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee is an unincorporated locality in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States, treated by the U.S. Census as a census-designated place . The population was 2,361 at the 2000 census...
, with their three children.
Major Works
A New York Times bestselling author, Meacham wrote Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship, a chronicle of the wartime relationship between Roosevelt and ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
, and the Making of a Nation, a historical portrait of the spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
foundation of America.
He edited Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement, a collection of distinguished nonfiction about the mid-century struggle against Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
.
Meacham's latest biography, American Lion
American Lion (book)
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House is a 2008 biography by Jon Meacham of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. It won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography....
, is about Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
and his White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
circle. A bestseller, it was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
He is at work on biographies of Presidents Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
.
Random House
Meacham is editing books by, among others, Al GoreAl Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, Clara Bingham, Charles Peters
Charles Peters
Charles Peters is an American journalist, editor, and author.Founder and former editor-in-chief of The Washington Monthly magazine, he is currently the president of Understanding Government. Peters was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1926. He attended local public schools, graduating from...
, Mary Soames, Mika Brzezinski
Mika Brzezinski
Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski is an American television news journalist at MSNBC. Brzezinski is co-host of MSNBC's weekday morning program Morning Joe, where she provides regular commentary and reads the news headlines for the program...
, Joe Scarborough
Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph "Joe" Scarborough is an American cable news and talk radio host, lawyer, author, and former politician. He is currently the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, and previously hosted Scarborough Country on the same channel...
, Jeremy McCarter, and Matthew Bowman. He is also supervising the publication of the letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. was an American historian and social critic whose work explored the American liberalism of political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian"...
and four real-time e-books on Campaign 2012 by Politico's Mike Allen and Evan Thomas
Evan Thomas
Evan Welling Thomas III is an American journalist and author. He currently teaches journalism at Princeton University.-Life and career:Thomas was born in Huntington, New York and was raised in Cold Spring Harbor, New York...
.
Affiliations
A contributing editor of The Washington MonthlyThe Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly is a bimonthly nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C.The magazine's founder is Charles Peters, who started the magazine in 1969 and continues to write the "Tilting at Windmills" column in each issue. Paul Glastris, former...
, Meacham is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
and a communicant of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, where he has served on the Vestry of the 180 year-old Episcopal parish. He is a former trustee and member of the Board of Regents of University of the South. Meacham is a Fellow of the Society of American Historians, a member of the Vestry of Trinity Church Wall Street, is a trustee of the Churchill Centre, and serves as National Board Chair of the Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. The Anti-Defamation League awarded Meacham the Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Prize. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 2005 and holds five other honorary doctorates.
Journalism
Meacham joined NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
as a writer in January 1995, became national affairs editor in June of that year, and was named managing editor in November 1998 at age 29. In September 2006, he was promoted to editor. In August 2010 Meacham announced that he would depart Newsweek upon completion of the sale of the magazine by the Washington Post Company
Washington Post Company
The Washington Post Company is an American education and media company, best known for owning the newspaper for which it is named, The Washington Post. The Company also owns Kaplan, Inc., a leading international provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses...
.
He also written essays and reviews for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, and The Los Angeles Times Book Review.
Books
- Editor,