Stephan Thernstrom

Stephan Thernstrom, a Harvard history professor and author who, with his wife, the political scientist Abigail Thernstrom, vaulted to national prominence during the 1990s as a leading critic of affirmative action, died on Thursday January 23 2025 in Arlington, Va. He was 90. His daughter, the author Melanie Thernstrom, said his death, at a care facility, was from complications of dementia. Stephan Thernstrom was the Winthrop Research Professor of History at Harvard University where he teaches American social history. He was born in Port Huron, Michigan and educated in the public schools of Port Huron and Battle Creek. He graduated with highest honors from Northwestern University in 1956, and was awarded the Ph.D. by Harvard in 1962. He held appointments as assistant professor at Harvard, associate professor at Brandeis University, and professor at UCLA before returning to Harvard as a professor in 1973. In 1978-1979 he was the Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions at Cambridge University and Professorial Fellow at Trinity College. His wife, political scientist Abigail Thernstrom died in 2020 at 83. Along with their daughter, Professor Thernstrom is survived by their son, Samuel, and four grandchildren.