Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist intellectual and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn wrote over 20 books, including his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United States in 1980. In 2007, he published a version of it for younger readers, A Young People's History of the United States.
Howard Zinn | |
|---|---|
Zinn in 2009 | |
| Born | August 24, 1922 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 2010 (aged 87) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Historian, educator, author, playwright |
| Spouse |
Roslyn Shechter
(m. 1944; died 2008) |
| Children | 2, including Jeff |
| Academic background | |
| Education | New York University (BA) Columbia University (MA, PhD) |
| Thesis | Fiorello LaGuardia in Congress (1958) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Spelman College Boston University |
| Main interests | Civil rights, war and peace |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | U.S. Army Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Socialism in the United States |
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Zinn described himself as "something of an anarchist, something of a socialist. Maybe a democratic socialist." He wrote extensively about the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement and labor history of the United States. His memoir, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Beacon Press, 1994), was also the title of a 2004 documentary about Zinn's life and work. Zinn died of a heart attack in 2010, at age 87.