Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr. (b. October 15, 1917) is an American liberal political scientist and social critic whose work has focused on the philosophies and policies of U.S. presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. He served as Special Assistant to the President in John F. Kennedy administration. He wrote the definitive account of the Kennedy Administration entitled "A Thousand Days."

Career

Education

• 1933 Phillips Exeter Academy
• 1938 Harvard University - Society of Fellows, 1939-1942

War time service

• 1942?1943 Office of War Information
• 1943?1945 Office of Strategic Services

Educator

• 1946-1961 professor of history at Harvard
• Elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1961.
• 1966 Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities at City University of New York Graduate Center - emeritus, 1994
• 1999-present board member, Century Institute

Democratic Activist

• Among the founders of Americans for Democratic Action
• Wrote speeches for Adlai Stevenson's two Presidential campaigns
• Wrote speeches and helped bring the left to John F. Kennedy's campaign
• 1961-1964 Presidential special assistant for Latin American affairs and speech writer
• Since May 2005 he's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.