Kenneth Silverman


Kenneth Eugene Silverman 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.

Biography

Silverman was born February 5, 1936 in Manhattan. He was educated at Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University, where he received B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. 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.

Books