Charles Scribner IV
American publisher (1921–1995)
title: "Charles Scribner IV" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["charles-scribner's-sons", "princeton-university-alumni", "st.-paul's-school-(new-hampshire)-alumni", "people-from-far-hills,-new-jersey", "1921-births", "1995-deaths", "people-from-quogue,-new-york", "vanderbilt-family", "members-of-the-american-philosophical-society"] description: "American publisher (1921–1995)" topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Scribner_IV" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American publisher (1921–1995) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Charles Scribner IV |
| office | President of Charles Scribner's Sons |
| term_start | 1952 |
| term_end | 1984 |
| predecessor | Charles Scribner III |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Quogue, New York, US |
| death_date | |
| death_place | New York City, US |
| education | St. Paul's School |
| alma_mater | Princeton University |
| spouse | Joan Sunderland |
| children | 3 |
| parents | Vera Gordon Bloodgood |
| Charles Scribner III | |
| relatives | Charles Scribner II (grandfather) |
| Charles Scribner I (great-grandfather) | |
| :: |
| name = Charles Scribner IV | image = | caption = | office = President of Charles Scribner's Sons | term_start = 1952 | term_end = 1984 | predecessor = Charles Scribner III | successor = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Quogue, New York, US | death_date = | death_place = New York City, US | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = St. Paul's School | alma_mater = Princeton University | party = | boards = | spouse = Joan Sunderland | partner = | children = 3 | parents = Vera Gordon Bloodgood Charles Scribner III | relatives = Charles Scribner II (grandfather) Charles Scribner I (great-grandfather) | signature = | website = | footnotes =
Charles Scribner IV (July 13, 1921 – November 11, 1995), also known as Charles Scribner Jr., was the head of the Charles Scribner's Sons publishing company. He was a resident of Manhattan for most of his adult life, living on the Upper East Side since 1945.
Early life
Scribner was born in Quogue, New York, on July 13, 1921, to Vera Gordon Bloodgood and Charles Scribner III and was raised in Far Hills, New Jersey.
He attended St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, for secondary school. He graduated as salutatorian from Princeton University in 1943, receiving his A.B. degree, summa cum laude. Nine members of his family, over six generations, have been graduates of Princeton.
He was a Navy cryptanalyst during World War II and the Korean War.
Career
He succeeded his father, Charles Scribner III, in 1952 as chief of Charles Scribner's Sons, which had been founded by his great-grandfather, Charles Scribner I, in 1846. In 1952, he succeeded his father as President of Scribners. He served in that role until 1977 when he became chairman in 1977. In 1978, he became chairman of the Scribner Book Companies, the holding company. He oversaw the operations until 1984, when the company was bought out by Macmillan Publishing.
He was a charter trustee of Princeton University from 1969 to 1979. He was a trustee of the Princeton University Press from 1949 to 1981, also serving as its president from 1957 to 1968. He was president of the American Book Publishers Council from 1966 to 1968.
Scribner was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1982.
Authorship
In his book In the Company of Writers, Charles Scribner discusses the publication of The Secret River by Marjorie Rawlings, noting that Rawlings never mentions the race of the character, Calpurnia.
While a few books were still appearing, "White (children's) publishers were still not open to books with Black themes", according to Joyce Braden Harris on "African and African-American Traditions in Language Arts". Scribner pointed out that "Whatever our decision, we could land on the wrong side of the school boards", The book received a Newbery Honor Award in 1956 for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", and was honored by the American Society of Graphic Arts.
Personal life
Scribner married figure skater Jeanette Kissel "Joan" Sunderland, a great-great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt and the two had three children:
- Charles Scribner V, now usually known as Charles Scribner III, a graduate of Princeton University, an art historian and author.
- John Scribner, a Columbia University graduate and visual artist.
- Blair Sunderland Scribner, director of the Buckley School's Middle school.
He died on November 11, 1995, at the Mary Manning Walsh nursing home on York Avenue in Manhattan.
References
References
- His father also called himself "Charles Scribner, Jr.", and registered for the World War I draft under that name.
- "Archives of Charles Scribner's Sons". [[Princeton University]].
- (April 22, 1952). "Succeeds His Father As Head of Scribner's". [[The New York Times]].
- Eric Pace. (November 13, 1995). "Charles Scribner Jr., Who Headed Publishing Company, Dies at 74". [[The New York Times]].
- Bailey Jr., Herbert S.. (1997). "Charles Scribner, Jr. (13 July 1921-11 November 1995)". [[Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society]].
- "APS Member History".
- Pescasolido, Bernice A.. (June 1997). "Culture and Conflict: The Portrayal of Blacks in U. S. Children's Picture Books through the Mid- and Late-Twentieth Century". American Sociological Review.
- Harris, Joyce Braden. "African and African=American Traditions in Language Arts". Multicultural/Multiethnic Education Baseline Essay Project.
- "Newbery Awards".
- "JOAN SCRIBNER - Obituary".
- (2013-06-05). "Essay - Charles Scribner III '73 on F. Scott Fitzgerald '17".
- "Brief Bio".
- (2007-07-01). "Jennifer Weidner, John Scribner". The New York Times.
- Pace, Eric. (1995-11-13). "Charles Scribner Jr., Who Headed Publishing Company, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
- "Middle School".
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