George nathan artist

George Jean Nathan

American drama critic and magazine editor (1882–1958)

George Jean Nathan

Nathan in 1928

Born(1882-02-14)February 14, 1882

Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.

DiedApril 8, 1958(1958-04-08) (aged 76)

New York City, U.S.

Occupations
  • Drama critic
  • magazine editor

George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American dramacritic and magazine editor. He worked closely as an editor with H. L. Mencken bringing the literary magazine The Smart Set to prominence and while co-founding and editing The American Mercury and The American Spectator.

Early life and education

Nathan was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on February 14, 1882, the son of Ella (Nirdlinger) and Charles Naret Nathan.[1] He was graduated from Cornell University in 1904. There, he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society and an editor of The Cornell Daily Sun.

Relationships and marriage

Nathan had a reputation as a "ladies' man" and the character of Addison De Witt, the waspish theater critic who squires

George Jean Nathan: A Candid Portrait

"George Jean Nathan is dead four years, but already he seems to have lived in a far-gone age.... I have no intention of writing a biography of him, but I would like to put down some facts and impressions that may keep future biographers from making fools of themselves" 

By Charles Angoff

George Jean Nathan is dead four years, but already he seems to have lived in a far-gone age. This slump into oblivion is common to virtually all writers of genuine stature. They nearly all slump immediately after their deaths and remain in the valley of neglect for a score of years, and then they emerge into their rightful places in literary history.

That history, unfortunately, is often written by men and women who have access to secondary sources alone, who have never known their subjects personally; and thus they commit gross errors of fact and of judgment—as is evident in the spate of biographies that have appeared about Mencken and Fitzgerald. Most of them have little value. Nathan will probably suffer from the same kind of bogus scholarship.

George Jean Nathan

George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) was the leading American drama critic of his time. Active from 1905 to 1958, he zealously practiced what he called "destructive" theater criticism. Nathan wrote during the most important period of U.S. theater's history and set critical standards that are still being followed.

George Jean Nathan was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on February 14, 1882. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated from that city's high school. On his mother's side, the German Nirdlingers, there were rugged pioneers who literally crossed the country in a covered wagon from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to settle Fort Wayne. Nathan's maternal grandfather was one of the founders of this frontier trading post.

Two of Nathan's maternal uncles were to influence his career as a drama critic. Charles Frederic Nirdlinger was a playwright and drama critic who encouraged Nathan's entrance into journalism. Uncle Samuel Nixon-Nirdlinger was an important theater manager who secured free tickets for Nathan's family; loyalty to this uncle also may have enge

Copyright ©spyalley.pages.dev 2025