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Born: 4/17/1929
Professor Emeritus of History at PSU, Stanley Weintraub is a great and prolific scholar of the Victorian period in English history, with special expertise in the works of George Bernard Shaw.
Philadelphia native Stanley Weintraub was born in 1929. After receiving degrees from West Chester University and Temple University, Weintraub was called to military service during the Korean Conflict, in which his conduct distinguished him. Upon return to the United States, Weintraub earned a Ph.D. at Penn State, beginning his professional association with the Victorian period and its main figures. After his retirement, Weintraub moved to Newark, Delaware.
Stanley Weintraub was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1929. His parents were Benjamin and Ray Weintraub. In 1954, Weintraub married his wife Rodelle Horowitz, with whom he had three children.
Weintraub attended West Chester State Teachers College (now West Chester University of Pennsylvania) where he received his B.S. in education in 1949. He remained in the Philadelphia vicinity and continued his education at Temple University were he received his master's degree in English. Weintraub received this degree "in absentia" because he was called to duty in the conflict in Korea just two months prior to graduation. He spent two years serving in the Eighth Army where he was a first lieutenant. For his wartime service, Weintraub was awarded the Bronze Star and the Korean Ribbon with five battle stars. Upon returning from his efforts in Korea, Weintraub enrolled at Pennsylvania State University in September 1953. On May 6, 1954, his complete dissertation, "Bernard Shaw, Novelist," was approved.
His doctoral dissertation was the beginning of his studies of prominent and controversial figures of the late 1800s, including George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, James McNeill, and Aubrey Beardsley. As a scholar of Bernard Shaw, Weintraub has edited his diaries and his autobiography. One of his Weintraub's first works, Private and Public Shaw: A Dual Portrait of Lawrence of Arabia and George Bernard Shaw, was published in 1963 while he was a professor at Pennsylvania State University. He has been editor of the Shaw Review since 1956.
Weintraub has written over 40 books. He has also served as an editor to volumes of texts, all of which are dedicated to early writers like Oscar Wilde and Bernard Shaw. Weintraub is also the author of numerous publications concerning military history, including: Long Day's Journey Into War and A Stillness Heard round the World. He has been highly praised for his literary contributions in publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post. Jonathan Yardley, a book reviewer for the Post, called Stanley Weintraub "a gifted, accomplished biographer and literary historian." Weintraub has received many awards for his research and writing concerning wartime efforts and his studies of Victorian authors. In 1967, he received a National Book Award Nomination for Beardsley: A Biography. A year later Weintraub became a Guggenheim Fellow. He was given the George Freedley Award from the American Theatre Library Association in 1971 for Journey to Heartbreak: The Crucible Years of Bernard Shaw, 1914-1918. He also received the Freedom Foundation Award in 1980 for his book The London Yankees: Portraits of American Writers and Artists in London, 1894-1914. In 1985, he was given the Distinguished Humanist Award by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. Weintraub has also received praise for his literary contributions from the various universities he attended. West Chester State Teachers College inaugurated the Stanley Weintraub Room in honor of the school's most famous alumnus. The room contains an archive of books, papers, and memorabilia.
Stanley Weintraub retired from Penn State as an Evan Hugh Professor Emeritus and director of Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He and Rodelle now live in Newark, Delaware.
- Private Shaw and Public Shaw: A Dual Portrait of Arabia and George Bernard Shaw. London: Braziller, 1963.
- Journey to Heartbreak: The Crucible Years of Bernard Shaw. New York: Weybright and Talley, 1971.
- Aubrey Beardsley: Imp of the Perverse. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976.
- The London Yankees: Portraits of American Writers and Artists in London, 1894-1914. New York: Harcourt, 1979.
- The Unexpected Shaw: Biographical Approaches to George Bernard Shaw and His Work. New York: Ungar, 1982.
- A Stillness Heard round the World: The End of the Great War, November 1918. New York: Dutton, 1985.
- Disraeli: A Biography. New York: Dutton, 1993.
- Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert. New York: Free Press, 1997.
- MacArthur's War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero. New York: Free Press, 2000.
- Silent Night: The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914. New York: Free Press, 2001.
- "Stanley Weintraub." The Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors Online. 10 Sept. 2009. 7 Nov. 2011.
- "Biographies of IAHS Fellows." Pennsylvania State University. 2000. 14 May 2002.
Photo Credit: "Professor Stanley Weintraub and Mrs. Rodelle Weintraub." Photograph. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 4x3. Source: Wikimedia.