Kane, Joseph Nathan, 1899-2002

Author, radio producer.

Biographical Note

Joseph Nathan Kane (1899-2002) was a radio host and author of the standard reference works Famous First Facts, Facts about the States, and Facts about the Presidents, among others.

Born in New York City, Kane attended Columbia University in 1917 but dropped out before finishing his degree. He then enrolled at the Columbia School of Engineering, earning a certificate in electrical engineering.

After graduating Kane worked in the export office of the New York confectioner D. Auerbach and Sons, using his language skills in French, German, and Spanish. While there he began to write articles about the export business. From this initial effort, Kane syndicated his columns to several trade journals, capitalizing on their popularity by creating the Kane Feature News Syndicate and becoming an accredited correspondent for the U.S. State Department.

Kane traveled extensively throughout the United States, gathering information for his columns and visiting every state and almost every city. While doing research for a book on inventions, he found that many inventors and innovators were never given proper credit. His decision to correct this oversight resulted in his first publication, Famous First Facts .

Building on the book's success, Kane was asked to host a radio program of the same title. Guests who claimed a place in the show’s "hall of famous firsts" represented a wide range of activity and included the holder of the first safety pin patent, the victim of the first auto accident, the first X-ray photographer in the United States, and the first woman taxicab driver. Kane, billed as an eminent authority on "firsts," would either reject or accept a guest's claim to fame.

The half-hour program was broadcast on New York radio station WOR over the Mutual Broadcasting network from August 1, 1938, until July 13, 1939. The on-air interviewer for most of the programs was Tom Slater.

In 1959 Facts about the Presidents was published and soon became a staple in most libraries. For each president, the book provided biographic information as well as facts about cabinet selections, legislative bills, elections, favorite pastimes, nicknames, marital status, and much more. It has been revised six times.

Kane’s next book, Facts about the States, was published in 1989 and provided geographic, demographic, economic, political, and cultural information about each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Kane published many more books during his lifetime and also wrote articles for trade journals and newspapers.

In his later years, Kane moved to Palm Beach, Florida. He died on September 22, 2002, at the age of 103.