Alfred A. Knopf, Jr.

Alfred Abraham Knopf, Jr. (June 17, 1918 – February 14, 2009) was one of the founders of Atheneum Publishers in 1959.

Biography

He was the only child of publisher Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. and Blanche Wolf. He was born in White Plains, New York, on June 17, 1918. At 7, in 1925 he was sent to a boarding school, first at the Riverdale Country School, in the Bronx, New York. From 1933 until 1937 he attended Phillips Exeter Academy.[1]

The summer after he graduated from Exeter he ran away from home, despondent over being turned down by Princeton University. Following a police search, he was found in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2]

During World War II, Knopf joined the Army Air Force and the Mighty Eighth Air Force. During his time in the service, he piloted the B-22 Bomber "Rough Buddy" through almost 100 missions alongside Engineer Richard E. Morton.

In 1952, he married Alice Laine. They had three children, Alison, Susan and David A. Knopf.

He was one of the founders of Atheneum Publishers in 1959.[1] He died on February 14, 2009.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (February 16, 2009). "Alfred A. Knopf Jr., Influential Publisher, Dies at 90". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-22. Alfred A. Knopf Jr., who left the noted publishing house run by his parents to become one of the founders of Atheneum Publishers in 1959, died on Saturday. He was 90, the last of the surviving founders, and lived in New York City. The cause of death was complications following a fall, his wife, Alice, said.
  2. ↑ "Pat & Pals". Time magazine. March 23, 1959. Retrieved 2009-02-22. Police in seven states were looking for Alfred A. Knopf Jr., only son of leading Publisher (Borzoi Books), Gourmet and Skier Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. Young (19) Knopf had left home and a summer job with a printing firm, despondent over being refused by Princeton, and determined (as he said in a note) not to return till he made good. A week later police found him in Salt Lake City, barefoot, hungry and broke. He had started out with $15, the last $2 of which someone had stolen from him while he was sleeping on a lawn in Utah. Bitterly, "Pat" Knopf noted that only truck drivers had helped him ("The rest of the people are a bunch of damned snobs") in his hitchhike attempt to reach Reno, where he "knew a lot of rich people" and hoped to get started on his own.
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