Brooks Atkinson
The New York Times critic whose sharp, principled pen could make or break Broadway productions for over three decades.
1894–1984 (age 90)·American theatre critic·Birthday: November 28·The Lost Generation
Biography
For nearly forty years, Brooks Atkinson was the definitive voice of Broadway, his reviews in The New York Times carrying the weight of final judgment. He began his tenure in the roaring twenties, bringing a clear, moral, and often witty perspective to the stage. His influence was so profound that a Broadway theatre was eventually named in his honor. Yet Atkinson was no mere aesthete; during World War II, he insisted on leaving his desk to report from the front lines, earning a Pulitzer Prize for his dispatches from Moscow. This depth of experience informed his later criticism, which balanced artistic assessment with a deep understanding of human drama. When he retired in 1960, an era of singular critical authority ended with him.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Brooks was born in 1894, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Brooks Was Born
The biggest hits of 1894
Brooks's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1894Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1899Started school
President: William McKinley
1907Became a teenager
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could drive
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could vote
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1915Turned 21
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1924Turned 30
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1934Turned 40
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1944Turned 50
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1954Turned 60
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1964Turned 70
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 80
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1984Died at 90
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
Key Achievements
- Served as the chief theater critic for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960, shaping American theatrical taste.
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence in 1947 for his wartime reporting from the Soviet Union.
- Had the Mansfield Theatre on Broadway renamed the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in his honor in 1960.
Did You Know?
He originally wanted to be a novelist and wrote several books of travel and reflection.
He was a passionate conservationist and helped found the New York State chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
His famous sign-off, 'I'm Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times,' was parodied by Groucho Marx.
“After each war, when the boys come home, there is a resurgence of interest in the theater.”
