Peter Benchley
The novelist who, with a single story about a great white shark, forever changed how we feel about going in the water.
1940–2006 (age 66)·American author·Birthday: May 8·The Silent Generation
Biography
Peter Benchley's legacy is inextricably tied to the deep blue sea, though his relationship with the creature he made infamous was complex. A grandson of humorist Robert Benchley and a former White House speechwriter, he channeled a lifelong fascination with the ocean into a gripping manuscript about a seaside community terrorized by a shark. 'Jaws' was not just a bestseller; it became a cultural quake, its film adaptation birthing the modern summer blockbuster. The book's success typecast him as a master of aquatic terror, leading to novels like 'The Deep,' but it also burdened him with a reputation he later sought to amend. In his later years, Benchley became a vocal ocean conservationist, expressing regret for the demonization of sharks and working to correct the public fear his fiction had helped spawn.
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.
Peter was born in 1940, 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 Peter Was Born
The biggest hits of 1940
#1 Movie
Fantasia
Best Picture
Rebecca
Peter's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1940Born
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1945Started school
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1953Became a teenager
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1956Could drive
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1958Could vote
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1961Turned 21
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
1970Turned 30
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 40
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 50
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 60
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2006Died at 66
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
Key Achievements
- Wrote the novel 'Jaws,' which spent over 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
- Co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of 'Jaws,' which became the highest-grossing film of its time.
- Served as a speechwriter for President Lyndon B. Johnson early in his career.
- Became a dedicated advocate for shark conservation through his work with organizations like the National Council of Wildlife.
Did You Know?
He based the character of Matt Hooper in 'Jaws' on a combination of himself and a well-known shark researcher.
Before writing 'Jaws,' he worked as a journalist for The Washington Post and Newsweek.
He narrated numerous documentaries for National Geographic, often focusing on the ocean.
He once said that if he had known then what he knew later about sharks, he probably never would have written 'Jaws.'
“What I now know, which I didn't know then, is that there's no such thing as a rogue shark which develops a taste for human flesh.”
