Norman Cousins

Norman Cousins was born in Union City, New Jersey (then West Hoboken, New Jersey). He was an athletic and high-achieving student, becoming the editor of his high school paper and later earning a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University. In 1934, Cousins started working for the New York Evening Post. In 1942, he became the editor-in-chief of the Saturday Review, multiplying its circulation from 20,000 to 650,000. He also wrote a number of non-fiction books throughout his career. Cousins was an advocate of liberal causes, and much of his writing and activism work focused on nuclear disarmament. In 1990, Cousins received the Albert Schweitzer Prize for his humanitarian achievements; he died of heart failure that same year.