Author Bio
• Birth—May 20, 1969
• Where—Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
• Education—B.A., University of the South
• Awards—Pulitizer Prize
• Currently—lives in New York City and Sewanee, Tennessee
Jon Meacham is an American publisher, journalist and author of historical works. His books include Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power (2012); American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (2008); American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation (2006); and Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship (2003). Meacham was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for American Lion.
Currently executive editor and executive vice president of Random House, Meacham is also a contributing editor to Time magazine, a former editor of Newsweek, and has written for the New York Times and Washington Post, among other publications. He is a regular contributor on Meet the Press, Morning Joe, and Charlie Rose. A Fellow of the Society of American Historians, Meacham serves on the boards of the New-York Historical Society, and the Churchill Centre.
Background
An only child, Meacham's parents divorced when he was young and he spent his middle and high school years living with his grandfather, Judge Ellis K. Meacham. A legendary figure in Chattanooga and a renowned author, the Judge is credited with giving Meacham his interest in history.
Meacham attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, graduating summa cum laude in English Literature. He studied religion under the revered professor Herbert S. Wentz, was salutatorian and elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Meacham began his journalistic career at the Chattanooga Times. In 1995 he joined Newsweek as a writer, became national affairs editor in June of that year, and was named managing editor in November 1998 at age 29. In September 2006, he was promoted to the position of editor. He supervises the magazine's coverage of politics, international affairs, and breaking news, and has written cover stories on politics, religion, race, guns in America, and the death of Ronald Reagan.
He and his wife, a Mississippi native, University of Virginia and Columbia University Teachers College graduate, and the former Executive Director of the Harlem Day Charter School, live in New York City and Tennessee. (Adapted from the publisher and Wikipedia. Retrieved 1/16/2014.)