John Hersey
American journalist, novelist, professor (1914-1993)
John Richard Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was an American writer and journalist. He is considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling techniques of fiction are adapted to non-fiction reportage. In 1999, Hiroshima, Hersey's account of the aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, was adjudged the finest work of American journalism of the 20th century by a 36-member panel associated with New York University's journalism department.
Background
Hersey was born in Tianjin, China, the son of Grace Baird and Roscoe Hersey, Protestant missionaries for the YMCA in Tianjin. Hersey learned to speak Chinese before he spoke English. Later he wrote his novel The Call (1985) on the lives of his parents and several other missionaries of their generation.
John Hersey was a descendant of William Hersey (or Hercy, as the family name was then spelled) of Reading, Berkshire, England. William Hersey was one of the first colonizers of Hingham, Massachusetts in 1635.
Hersey returned to the United States with his family when he was ten years old. He attended public school in Briarcliff Manor, New York, including Briarcliff High School for two years.
The public source identifies “John Hersey” as american journalist, novelist, professor (1914-1993). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around John, Hersey and American.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q535812. VIAF identifies the subject as 105148984. The Library of Congress control number is n79054652. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1914, 1993, 1999 and 1985.
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This entry incorporates text from “John Hersey” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.