Kenneth Schuyler Lynn

Background

Kenneth Schuyler Lynn was born on June 17, 1923 Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He had a sister, Marcey L. Krum.

Education

Kenneth Lynn received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1954.

Career

Kenneth Lynn was hired by Harvard's English department in 1954, being named the chairman of the American civilization program in 1964, a post he kept until 1968. A year later he moved to Johns Hopkins University and a job with the history faculty. He remained at Johns Hopkins until retirement in 1989. During his career, Lynn edited numerous books and wrote several of his own, including William Dean Howells: An American Life, Visions of America: Eleven Literary Historical Essays and The Air-Line to Seattle: Studies in Literary and Historical Writing about America. In 1987 he wrote Hemingway: The Life and the Work, which won a Los Angeles Times book award for biography. The book went in depth about Hemingway’s perceived sexual hang-ups and fascination with gender roles and was lauded by many critics for its thoroughness. After Hemingway, Lynn spent six years researching the life of actor Charlie Chaplin. The resulting book, Charlie Chaplin and His Times, was published in 1997. It took a critical view of the star of silent films and while some critics viewed the book as a harsh portrait, others praised Lynn’s research on the actor.

Achievements

• Kenneth Schuyler Lynn was a popular author. He was best known for his biographies of Charlie Chaplin and Ernest Hemingway, which won a Los Angeles Times book award.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Charlie Chaplin and His Times

    (A portrait of Charlie Chaplin discusses the life and time...)

    1997
  • Hemingway: Life and Work

    (Traces Hemingway's life, attempts to depict his complex p...)

    1987
  • Visions of America: Eleven Literary Historical Essays 1973
  • The Dream of Success: A Study of the Modern American Imagination 1955
  • William Dean Howells: An American life 1971
  • Mark Twain and Southwestern Humor 1972
  • The Air-line to Seattle: Studies in Literary and Historical Writing about America 1983
  • A Divided People 1977

Connections

Kenneth Lynn was married to Valerie Roemer Lynn. Their marriage produced three children - Andrew S, Betsy and Sophia. Kenneth had also three grandchildren.

Spouse:

Valerie Roemer Lynn

Sister:

Marcey L. Krum

Son:

Andrew S. Lynn

Daughter:

Betsy Lynn

Daughter:

Sophia Lynn