Hofstadter, Richard (1916 - 1970), Social Historians / Commentators, Literary Critics

historian, writer, and critic, was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Emil A Hofstadter, a furrier, and Katherine Hill. His father, born in Cracow, Poland, was Jewish, and his mother, whose family had emigrated from Germany in the aftermath of 1848, was an Episcopalian. Although his mother died when he was ten, Richard was raised a Protestant. As an adult he came to identify with his father’s secular Jewish heritage, especially after his move to New York City, where he became involved with the city’s predominately Jewish, politically left intellectual groups.

historian, writer, and critic, was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Emil A Hofstadter, a furrier, and Katherine Hill. His father, born in Cracow, Poland, was Jewish, and his mother, whose family had emigrated from Germany in the aftermath of 1848, was an Episcopalian. Although his mother died when he was ten, Richard was raised a Protestant. As an adult he came to identify with his father’s secular Jewish heritage, especially after his move to New York City, where he became involved with the city’s predominately Jewish, politically left intellectual groups.