John McPhee
A literary cartographer who spent a lifetime mapping the hidden worlds of oranges, canoes, geology, and the minds behind them with boundless curiosity.
Born 1931 (age 95)·American author·Birthday: March 8·The Silent Generation
Biography
For over half a century, John McPhee has been teaching readers how to see the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary. A staff writer for The New Yorker since 1965, he pioneered a form of nonfiction that immerses the reader completely in a subject, whether it's the arcana of tennis strategy or the billion-year history of a continent. His method is one of patient accretion of detail and deep reporting, often shadowing experts for months to understand their world. At Princeton University, he shaped generations of writers, including a young student named David Remnick. McPhee's great project, 'Annals of the Former World,' a geological survey of North America, earned him the Pulitzer Prize, cementing his status as a writer who makes any topic, no matter how dense, vibrate with human and natural drama.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
John was born in 1931, placing them squarely in The Silent 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 John Was Born
The biggest hits of 1931
#1 Movie
Frankenstein
Best Picture
Cimarron
John's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1931Born
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1936Started school
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1944Became a teenager
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
1947Could drive
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1949Could vote
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Turned 21
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1961Turned 30
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1971Turned 40
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 50
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 60
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 70
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 80
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2026Age 95 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1999 for 'Annals of the Former World'.
- Authored over 30 books, defining and mastering the genre of literary nonfiction.
- Has been a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine since 1965.
- Held the Ferris Professorship of Journalism at Princeton University since 1974, mentoring countless writers.
Did You Know?
He was a college roommate of future U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz at Princeton.
His book 'Oranges' (1967) is a full-length work devoted entirely to the history and science of the citrus fruit.
He is known for using a structural approach to writing, often diagramming his articles like architectural plans.
McPhee is an avid canoeist, a subject he explored in his book 'The Survival of the Bark Canoe'.
““Creative nonfiction is not making something from nothing; it is making something from something.””
