Rogers, Thomas 1927-2007 (Thomas Hunton Rogers)

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Rogers, Thomas 1927-2007 (Thomas Hunton Rogers)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born June 23, 1927, in Chicago, IL; died in a car crash apparently caused when he had a heart attack, April 1, 2007, in State College, PA. Educator and author. Rogers was an English professor who was also known as the author of such novels as The Pursuit of Happiness (1968). A 1950 Harvard graduate, he did his graduate studies at the University of Iowa, earning a master's degree in 1953 and a doctorate in 1960. After teaching at the University of Chicago in the late 1950s, he joined the Pennsylvania State University faculty in 1961. Rogers became a full professor in 1973, teaching creative writing until his 1992 retirement. As a novelist, he was known for stories about young men resisting conventional society and struggling with fate and alienation. The Pursuit of Happiness was nominated for the National Book Award. It was followed by The Confession of a Child of the Century by Samuel Heather (1972), At the Shores (1980), and its sequel, Jerry Engels (2005).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, April 4, 2007, Section 3, p. 9.

Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2007, p. B8.

New York Times, April 3, 2007, p. A21.

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