Rogow, Arnold A. 1924–2006

(Arnold Austin Rogow)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born August 10, 1924, in Harrisburg, PA; died of complications following a stroke, February 14, 2006, in New York, NY. Political scientist, psychotherapist, educator, and author. A retired professor at the City College of the City University of New York, Rogow was known for his writings that used his knowledge of psychotherapy to combine psychology, biography, and political science in his books. A veteran, he served in the U.S. Army Infantry during World War II, fighting at the Battle of the Bulge and earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. After the war, he finished undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin in 1947. This was followed by a master's degree from Princeton in 1950, and a Ph.D. from the same university three years later. Rogow taught at the University of Iowa for five years, followed by a year at Haverford College. He then joined the Stanford University faculty in 1959, becoming a professor of political science in 1964. Finally, in 1966, he was hired as a political science professor at City College, where he remained until his 1985 retirement. While teaching, Rogow came to believe that he would comprehend the important motives of political figures in history better if he understood psychology better. Therefore, he studied at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, where he became a qualified psychoanalyst. Rogow even had a psychology practice on the side while he was teaching. He used this education in such books as A Fatal Friendship: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr (1998), in which he hypothesized that Hamilton's challenge to Burr, which resulted in the famous duel that killed Hamilton, was instigated by severe depression. Hamilton, in effect, committed suicide by letting Burr shoot him. Though an interesting theory, many historians criticized Rogow for what they felt was an over-speculative approach. Rogow employed his methods on other books, as well, such as James Forrestal: A Study of Personality, Politics and Policy (1964), and, even more creatively, The Dying of the Light: A Searching Look at America Today (1975). In the latter, he psychoanalyzed the entire national culture. His conclusion was a very unflattering portrait of the American psyche, which he considered to be violent and misdirected.

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PERIODICALS

New York Times, March 2, 2006, p. C23.