Martin J. Sherwin
Encyclopedia
Martin J. Sherwin is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
historian
. His scholarship mostly concerns the history of the development of atomic energy and nuclear proliferation
.
Sherwin received his B.A.
from Dartmouth College
and his Ph.D.
in history
from the University of California, Los Angeles
. He was the long-time Walter S. Dickson professor of English
and American history at Tufts University
until his retirement in May 2007. He is now a professor emeritus of Tufts and a University Professor at George Mason University
.
He has received numerous awards and grants besides those listed here.
He and co-author Kai Bird
shared the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
in 2006, for their book on Robert Oppenheimer
's life, titled American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Sherwin worked on the book for two decades before Bird, a writer (and not a historian), came on to collaborate in piecing all his research together.
Sherwin also wrote A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and its Legacies, which won the Stuart L. Bernath Prize, and the National Historical Society's American History Book Prize. A previous book on nuclear policy was a runner-up for the Pulitzer.
Sherwin serves on the board of The Nation
magazine, to which he is a regular contributor. While a professor at Princeton University
, he taught and mentored Katrina vanden Heuvel
, now editor-in-chief of The Nation.
He lives in Washington, D.C.
with his wife, Susan. His daughter is a graduate of and a professor at Tufts.
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 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. His scholarship mostly concerns the history of the development of atomic energy and nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
.
Sherwin received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. He was the long-time Walter S. Dickson professor of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and American history at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
until his retirement in May 2007. He is now a professor emeritus of Tufts and a University Professor at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
.
He has received numerous awards and grants besides those listed here.
He and co-author Kai Bird
Kai Bird
Kai Bird is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist, best known for his biographies of political figures.-Personal life:Bird was born in 1951 in Eugene, Oregon. His father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and he spent his childhood in Jerusalem, Beirut, Dhahran, Cairo and Bombay...
shared the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author.-1910s:* 1917: Julia Ward Howe by Laura E...
in 2006, for their book on Robert Oppenheimer
Robert Oppenheimer
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first...
's life, titled American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Sherwin worked on the book for two decades before Bird, a writer (and not a historian), came on to collaborate in piecing all his research together.
Sherwin also wrote A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and its Legacies, which won the Stuart L. Bernath Prize, and the National Historical Society's American History Book Prize. A previous book on nuclear policy was a runner-up for the Pulitzer.
Sherwin serves on the board of The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
magazine, to which he is a regular contributor. While a professor at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, he taught and mentored Katrina vanden Heuvel
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Katrina vanden Heuvel is the editor, publisher, and part-owner of the magazine The Nation. She has been the magazine's editor since 1995. She is a frequent guest on numerous television programs...
, now editor-in-chief of The Nation.
He lives in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with his wife, Susan. His daughter is a graduate of and a professor at Tufts.