Mencken, H.L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
Name Entries
person
Mencken, H.L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Mencken
Forename :
H.L.
NameExpansion :
Henry Louis
Date :
1880-1956
eng
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authorizedForm
rda
Mencken, H.L. (Henry Louis), 1880-1956
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Mencken, Henry Louis, 1880-1956
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Mencken
Forename :
Henry Louis
Date :
1880-1956
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
Hatteras, Owen, 1880-1956
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Hatteras
Forename :
Owen
Date :
1880-1956
eng
Latn
alternativeForm
rda
メンケン, H. L
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Name :
メンケン, H. L
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Biographical History
Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken (September 12, 1880 - January 29, 1956), was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a student of American English. Mencken, known as the "Sage of Baltimore", is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century.
Mencken worked as a reporter and drama critic for the Baltimore Morning Herald from 1899 to 1906. From 1906 to the end of his working career he was at the Baltimore Evening Sun where he wrote the column "Free Lance" in which he expressed his views on literature, politics and society. He was book review editor for the magazine Smart Set from 1908 to 1924 when he started a new magazine, American Mercury, a journal of sociology and politics. He retired from American Mercury in 1933 and concentrated on writing for the Baltimore Sun and encouraging young literary talent. Mencken was also an independent writer, best known for The American Language (1919), a guide to American idioms and expressions, and for his satirical reporting on the Scopes trial. He also wrote an autobiographical trilogy in the early 1940s, Happy Days (1940), Newspaper Days (1941), and Heathen Days (1943).
Individualistic, contentious, even pugnacious, Mencken was outspoken in his contempt for many aspects of American society. As a nationally syndicated columnist and book editor, he had a strong influence on the literate and articulate young writers of the 1910s and early 1920s. Mencken married English professor Sara Haardt in 1930; they had no children. Mencken died in his home in Baltimore in 1956.
Biographical note prepared from information found in the Biographical Dictionary of American Newspaper Columnists and World Authors, 1900-1950 .
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External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/76330588
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q439204
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n80036702
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n80036702
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MB6K-2F6
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Languages Used
fre
Latn
ger
Latn
eng
Latn
Subjects
American literature
Theater
Authors, American
Authors, American
Authors, American
Authors, American
American newspapers
Arts
Arts and society
Assembly, Right of
Criticism
Critics
Dramatic criticism
Editorials
Editors
English language
English language
English language
English language
Freedom of speech
Journalism
Journalism
Journalism
Journalists
Journalists
Journalists
Language and languages
Linguistics
Literature
Literature
Manuscripts, American
Music
Newspapers
Periodicals
Periodicals
Portraits
Prohibition
Quotations
Reporters and reporting
Satire, American
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918
World politics
Nationalities
Americans
Activities
Occupations
Authors, American
Authors
Critics
Editors
Journalists
Journalists
Legal Statuses
Places
Baltimore
MD, US
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Baltimore
MD, US
AssociatedPlace
Death
New York City
NY, US
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Work
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