Stone, Irving, 1903-1989

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Epithet: born Irving Tannenbaum, writer

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001039.0x0003bb

Irving Stone was born Irving Tannenbaum in San Francisco, California, changing his name to Stone after his mother remarried. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, supporting himself by playing the saxophone, and graduated with degrees in political science and economics. He lectured, working on a Ph. D., but moved to Paris to write plays, which were unsuccessful. While in Paris he encountered the works of Vincent Van Gogh, and meticulously researched the painter's life, leading to the popular fictional biography, Lust for Life. Stone continued to write nonfiction, but specialized in biographical novels, preferring the wider audience fiction allowed. He wrote accounts of Charles Darwin, Clarence Darrow, Michelangelo, Sigmund Freud, and many others, popular novels distinguished by careful research, idealized portrayals, and historical detail.

From the description of Irving Stone letter to Joseph Servello, 1963 May 28. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 70901290

Irving Stone was an author known for his biographical novels. Lona Mosk was Stone's first wife from around 1922 to 1933. Irving Stone married Jean Factor in 1934.

From the description of Irving Stone letters : to Sylvia and Samuel Ladar, circa 1930-1989 (bulk 1931-1936). (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 82899632

Irving Stone was an American author known for his biographical novels.

From the description of Irving Stone papers : additions, 1934-1943. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 469236060

American author.

From the description of Papers of Irving Stone [manuscript], 1938-1962. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647814428

Author.

From the description of Reminiscences of Irving Stone : oral history, 1966. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122308380

Irving Stone (born Irving Tennenbaum) was an American author born in San Francisco, CA on 1903 July 14. Stone was known for writing biographical novels depicting the lives of famous historical personalities such as Vincent Van Gogh (Lust for Life). Stone received his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1923 and a Master's Degree in Economics from University of Southern California in 1924.

Stone began his writing career in 1926 as a playwright and supported himself by submitting stories to pulp magazines. In 1928, Stone began to write his first biographical novel, Lust for Life, based on the life of Vincent Van Gogh. The novel was published in 1934 and immediately became a bestseller. He would go on the publish works based on the lives of other famous historical figures such as Michelangelo (The Agony and the Ecstasy), Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln (Love is Eternal), Charles Darwin (The Origin), and Sigmund Freud (Passions of the Mind).

Stone's biographical novels have the reputation of being thoroughly researched and based primarily upon source materials such as journals and collections of letters written by the subjects. Stone died in 1989 at the age of 86 in Los Angeles.

From the description of Irving Stone papers, 1945-1985. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 713801591

Biographical Chronology

  • 1903: Irving Stone born to Charles and Pauline Rosenberg Tennebaum on July 14 in San Francisco (Calif.).
  • 1907: Learns to read.
  • 1910: Mother divorces father
  • 1912: Begins to write.
  • 1916 - 1918 : Attends Lowell High School (San Francisco, Calif.).
  • 1918: Mother marries second husband; Stone takes his surname. Family moves to Los Angeles (Calif.). Stone enrolls at Manual Arts High School.
  • 1920: Attends second semester at University of Southern California.
  • 1920 - 1923 : Attends University of California, Berkeley. Earns Bachelors of Arts in Economics.
  • 1923 - 1924 : Serves as Teaching Fellow in economics at University of Southern California. Earns Masters in Economics.
  • 1924 - 1926 : Instructor of Economics at University of California, Berkeley. Attends University of California, Berkeley as a doctoral student of Economics.
  • 1925: Mother dies.
  • 1926: Wins Little Theatre Prize Play Contest at University of California, Berkeley. Begins career as author. Moves to New York (N.Y.).
  • 1926 - 1930 : Writes numerous plays, primarily one acts. Supports self by writing pulp fiction for magazines.
  • 1927 - 1928 : Travels through Europe; sees exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh's work.
  • 1928: The Dark Mirror produced by the Lenox Hill Players. Begins to write Lust for Life
  • 1933: Publishes Pageant of Youth (Alfred H. King, Inc.).
  • 1934: Marries Jean Factor (b. 1916 or 1917). Publishes Lust for Life (Longmans, Green, and Co.) after being refused by seventeen publishers in three years.
  • 1936: Truly Valiant produced on Broadway; the play closes after one performance. Returns to Berkeley (Calif.) to research Jack London.
  • 1937: Returns to Southern California. Publishes Dear Theo (Houghton Mifflin). Daughter Paula born.
  • 1938: Publishes Sailor on Horseback (Houghton Mifflin Company).
  • 1939: Moves to Encino (Calif.). Publishes False Witness (Doubleday and Co., inc.), his last novel. Continues to use Doubleday and Co., inc. for the rest of his publishing career.
  • 1941: Publishes Clarence Darrow for the Defense.
  • 1943: Publishes They Also Ran. Begins work with the Research Institute of America.
  • 1944: Publishes Immortal Wife. Son Kenneth born[?].
  • 1945: Moves to Beverly Hills (Calif.). Purchases first pre-Columbian works of art.
  • 1947 - 1954 : Publishes Adversary in the House (1947), Earl Warren: A Great American Story (1948), The Passionate Journey (1949), The President's Lady (1951), and Love is Eternal (1954).
  • 1955: Founds and serves as president of the Fellows for Schweitzer.
  • 1956: Publishes Men to Match My Mountains. Sells house in Beverly Hills (Calif.). Moves to Italy to begin research for The Agony and the Ecstasy. Remains in Italy for several years.
  • 1958: Tours Greece and Turkey for the United States State Department. Returns to Beverly Hills.
  • 1960 - 1961 : Serves as president of the California Writers Guild.
  • 1961: Publishes The Agony and the Ecstasy. Moves into final home in Beverly Hills.
  • 1962: Tours Europe and the Eastern bloc for United States State Department.
  • 1964 - 1965 : Becomes president of the Beverly Hills Improvement Association, created to stop the planned Beverly Hills Freeway.
  • 1965: Publishes Those Who Love. Receives Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Southern California. Teaches English course at the University of Southern California.
  • 1967: Founding member of the California State Colleges Committee for the Arts.
  • 1968: Receives Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of California, Berkeley. Founds the Irving and Jean Stone Award for best biographical and historical novel.
  • 1971: Publishes The Passions of the Mind after two decades of preparation.
  • 1975: Publishes The Greek Treasure. California Museum of Science and Technology celebrates Stone's seventy-fifth birthday with testimonial dinner and the exhibition California's Irving Stone.
  • 1980: Publishes The Origin.
  • 1985: Publishes Depths of Glory. Serves as Regents Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Guest workshop lecturer at Sonoma State University in the English Department.
  • 1989: Performs last public appearance in June. Dies in August, leaving final work on John Muir unfinished.

From the guide to the Irving Stone papers, 1923-1990s, (bulk 1934-1989), (The Bancroft Library.)

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Irving Stone (born Irving Tennenbaum) was an American author born in San Francisco, CA on 1903 July 14. Stone was known for writing biographical novels depicting the lives of famous historical personalities.

Stone received his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1923 and a Master's Degree in Economics from University of Southern California in 1924.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Stone began his writing career in 1926 as a playwright and supported himself by submitting stories to pulp magazines. In 1928, Stone began to write his first biographical novel, Lust for Life, based on the life of Vincent Van Gogh. The novel was published in 1934 and immediately became a bestseller. He would go on the publish works based on the lives of other famous historical figures such as Michelangelo (The Agony and the Ecstasy), Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln (Love is Eternal), Charles Darwin (The Origin), and Sigmund Freud (Passions of the Mind).

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Stone's biographical novels have the reputation of being thoroughly researched and based primarily upon source materials such as journals and collections of letters written by the subjects.

Stone died in 1989 at the age of 86 in Los Angeles.

From the guide to the Irving Stone Papers, 1945-1985, (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Clarence Darrow Papers, 1894-1941, (bulk 1910-1935) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Germer, Adolph. Papers, 1898-1966. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Steinman, D. B. (David Barnard), 1886-1960. Papers, 1907-1960. American Periodical Series I
creatorOf Dunne, Philip, 1908-1992. The agony and the ecstacy : screenplay / by Philip Dunne. San Diego State University Library, SDSU Library and Information Access
creatorOf Fry, Amelia R. The Warrens: Four Personal Views : koral history transcript / taper recorded interviews conducted 1970-1974 by Amelia R. Fry, Miriam Feingold and Wendy Won for the Regional Oral History Office, the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, Calif., 1976 : and related material, 1970-1976. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Irving Stone letters : to Sylvia and Samuel Ladar, circa 1930-1989 (bulk 1931-1936). UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Goldscheider, Ludwig, 1896-1973. Ludwig Goldscheider papers, 1911-1981 (bulk 1925-1973). Getty Research Institute
creatorOf Cramton, Louis C. (Louis Convers), b. 1875. Louis Convers Cramton papers, 1896-1966. Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Jacob Getlar Smith papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Lewis, Mort Reis. Interviews with Irving Stone and Lilian Bean on Allan Nevins, 1969-1971. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
referencedIn Coleman, J. Winston (John Winston), 1898-1983. J. Winston Coleman papers, 1780-1965 1935-1965. University of Kentucky Libraries
creatorOf Shippey, Lee, 1884-. Papers, 1915-1970. University of California, San Diego, UC San Diego Library; UCSD Library
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Correspondence : to Van Wyck Brooks, 1944-1947. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Fonds Edward Gordon Craig Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des arts du spectacle
referencedIn Miklos Rozsa Papers, 1918-1996 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Irving Stone Papers, 1945-1985 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Peter and Rose Krasnow papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Ken McCormick Collection of Doubleday and Company, Inc., Records, 1882-1992, (bulk 1910-1992) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Irving Stone research collection for unpublished manuscript on John Muir. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Pasadena / Iving Stone. Pasadena Public Library
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Irving Stone papers, 1945-1985. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Carpenter, Margaret Haley. Papers of Margaret Haley Carpenter [manuscript], 1898-1985, bulk 1953-1985. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Industrial change and labor displacement. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Lehman, B. H. (Benjamin Harrison), 1889-1977. Benjamin H. Lehman papers, 1908-1978. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Reminiscences of Irving Stone : oral history, 1966. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Supplementary Strachey Papers. Vol. lxvi b (ff.127). Correspondence of Alix Strachey; 1923-1972.Alix Strachey, née Sargant-Florence; wife of J B Strachey: Correspondence of A. Strachey: 1923-1972.includes:ff. 1-2 Dora de Houghton Carrington, pai..., 1923-1972 British Library
creatorOf Correspondents, surnames P-S.Barbara Phipps, 1993. David Pryce-Jones, 1986. Meriel, Lady Richardson, 1987. To Reinhardt John R. Roberts, of CVBC Services Ltd, 1987. Thomas G. Rosenthal, [1987]. On a contribution to portrait for Andre Deutsch’s 70..., 1968-2000 British Library
creatorOf Irving Stone papers, 1923-1990s, (bulk 1934-1989) Bancroft Library
creatorOf Walling, Anna Strunsky, 1879-. Papers of Anna Strunsky Walling, 1877-1958. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Papers of Irving Stone [manuscript], 1938-1962. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Jackson, Joseph Henry, 1894-1955. Joseph Henry Jackson papers, circa 1931-1955. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Hamilton, Ruth, 1898-. Papers of Ruth Hamilton, 1895-1996 (bulk 1937-1996). University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Max Reinhardt papers, 1899-2006 British Library: Western Manuscripts
creatorOf Briones, John H. Recollections of John Muir : oral history transcript / tape recorded interviews conducted 1964 by John M. Jencks and Ernest Lowe for the Regional Oral History Office, the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California, 1971 : and related material, 1964-1971. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. There was light : manuscripts, correspondence, galleys, [ca. 1960-1969]. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Eleanor M. Bumgardner papers, 1919-1967 Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Hochstein, Irma E., 1887-1974. Irma E. Hochstein papers, 1916-1965. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Book and Author War Bond Committee. Records, 1943-1946. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Dell, Floyd, 1887-1969. Floyd Dell papers, 1908-1969. Newberry Library
referencedIn Papers of Robert Graves: Correspondence (arranged by correspondent), c1909 to 2004 St John's College, Oxford
referencedIn Clarence Darrow Papers, 1894-1941, (bulk 1910-1935) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Faulkner, William, 1897-1962. Papers regarding Faulkner's work as Chairman of the Writers Committee of President Eisenhower's People-to People Program [manuscript], 1956-1969. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Irving Stone letter to Joseph Servello, 1963 May 28. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
creatorOf Lewis, Mort Reis. Papers of Mort Reis Lewis, 1953-1985. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Irving Stone papers : additions, 1934-1943. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Hawkins, John R. John R. Hawkins '56 literary manuscript collection, 1972-80. Haverford College Library
creatorOf Stone, Irving, 1903-1989. Irving Stone papers, 1923-1990s (bulk 1934-1989). UC Berkeley Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Adams, Abigail, 1744 -1818 person
associatedWith Adams, Abigail, 1744-1818. person
associatedWith Barrett, Clifton Waller, 1901-, person
associatedWith Book and Author War Bond Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith Bumgardner, Eleanor M. (Eleanor Margaret) person
associatedWith Carpenter, Margaret Haley. person
associatedWith Cerf, Bennett, 1898-1971. person
associatedWith Coleman, J. Winston (John Winston), 1898-1983. person
correspondedWith Craig, Edward Gordon (1872-1966) person
associatedWith Cramton, Louis C. (Louis Convers), b. 1875. person
associatedWith Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938. person
associatedWith Darwin, Charles, 1758 -1778 person
associatedWith Darwin, Charles, 1758-1778. person
associatedWith Debs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor), 1855-1926. person
associatedWith Dell, Floyd, 1887-1969. person
associatedWith Doubleday and Company, inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Dunne, Philip, 1908-1992. person
associatedWith Faulkner, William, 1897-1962. person
associatedWith Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902. person
associatedWith Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939. person
associatedWith Germer, Adolph. person
associatedWith Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890. person
associatedWith Goldscheider, Ludwig, 1896-1973. person
associatedWith Graves, Robert Windham, 1858-1934 person
associatedWith Grolier Club. corporateBody
associatedWith Hamilton, Ruth, 1898- person
associatedWith Hansen, A. B., Jr., person
associatedWith Hawkins, John R. person
associatedWith Hochstein, Irma E., 1887-1974. person
associatedWith Jackson, Joseph Henry, 1894-1955. person
associatedWith Jackson, Rachel, 1767 -1828 person
associatedWith Jackson, Rachel, 1767-1828. person
associatedWith Krasnow, Peter, 1886-1979. person
associatedWith Ladar, Samuel A. (Samuel Abraham), 1903- person
associatedWith Ladar, Sylvia, person
associatedWith Laurence Pollinger, Ltd. corporateBody
associatedWith Laurence Pollinger, Ltd. corporateBody
associatedWith Lehman, B. H. (Benjamin Harrison), 1889-1977. person
associatedWith Lewis, Mort, person
associatedWith Lewis, Mort Reis. person
associatedWith Lincoln, Mary Todd, 1818-1882. person
associatedWith London, Jack, 1876-1916. person
associatedWith McCormick, Ken, 1906-1997 person
associatedWith Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564. person
associatedWith Moorehead, Alan, 1910-1983. person
associatedWith Moorehead, Lucy. person
associatedWith Mosk, Lona. person
associatedWith Muir, John, 1838-1914. person
associatedWith Nevins, Allan, 1890-1971. person
associatedWith Noble, John, 1874-1934. person
associatedWith Online Archive of California. corporateBody
associatedWith Pissarro, Camille, 1830-1903. person
associatedWith Rózsa, Miklós, 1907-1995 person
associatedWith Schliemann, Heinrich, 1822-1890. person
associatedWith Servello, Joe, person
associatedWith Shippey, Lee, 1884- person
associatedWith Smith, Jacob Getlar, 1898-1958. person
associatedWith Spain. Ejército Popular de la República. Abraham Lincoln Battalion. corporateBody
associatedWith Spinoza, Benedictus de, 1632-1677 person
correspondedWith Steinman, D. B. (David Barnard), 1886-1960. person
associatedWith Stone, Jean person
associatedWith Stone, Jean. person
associatedWith Stone, Jean. person
associatedWith University of California, Berkeley corporateBody
associatedWith University of California, Los Angeles. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Virginia. Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Walling, Anna Strunsky, 1879- person
associatedWith Warren, Earl, 1891-1974. person
associatedWith Wilson, Garff B. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Pasadena (Calif.)
Subject
Authors, American
Authors, American
Authors
Authors and publishers
Biographical fiction
Literary criticism
Literary agents
Male authors, American
Manuscripts
Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, Calif
Occupation
Collector
Activity

Person

Birth 1903-07-14

Death 1989-08-26

Americans

English

Information

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