Charles Krauthammer
Pulitzer-winning columnist and psychiatrist who shaped conservative foreign policy.
Charles Krauthammer (March 13, 1950 – June 21, 2018) was an American political columnist and psychiatrist. He began his career as a moderate liberal but later shifted to an independent conservative stance as a pundit. In 1987, his work for *The Washington Post* earned him a Pulitzer Prize, and his weekly column eventually appeared in over 400 publications globally. During his first year at Harvard Medical School, a diving board accident severed his spinal cord at cervical nerve 5, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. After 14 months of hospitalization, he returned to medical school, graduated, and became a psychiatrist who helped create the *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III* in 1980. In 1978, he joined the Carter administration as a director of psychiatric research, and by 1980 he was writing speeches for Vice President Walter Mondale.
Krauthammer was born on March 13, 1950, in Manhattan, New York City. His father, Shulim Krauthammer (November 23, 1904 – June 1987), came from Bolekhiv, Ukraine (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and later became a naturalized French citizen. His mother, Thea Horowitz (July 28, 1921 – February 14, 2019), was from Antwerp, Belgium. The family spoke French at home. When Krauthammer was five, they moved to Montreal, living there during the school year and spending summers in Long Beach, New York. Both parents were Orthodox Jews, and he graduated from Herzliah High School. He attended McGill University in Montreal, earning first-class honors in economics and political science in 1970. McGill was then a center of radical sentiment, which Krauthammer said shaped his aversion to political extremism. He recalled becoming acutely aware of the dangers and hypocrisies of both extremes, which cleansed him of any romanticism early in his political development. He later stated that he detested the far left and far right and found himself somewhere in the middle. After McGill, he studied as a Commonwealth Scholar in politics at Balliol College, Oxford, for a year before returning to the U.S. for medical school at Harvard.
The diving accident occurred during his first year of medical school. While hospitalized, he stayed with his Harvard class and graduated in 1975, crediting associate dean Hermann Lisco for making it possible. From 1975 to 1978, he was a psychiatry resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as chief resident in his final year. During that time, he identified a variant of manic depression he called secondary mania and published his findings in the *Archives of General Psychiatry*. He also co-authored a pioneering study on the epidemiology of mania. In 1978, he moved to Washington, D.C., to direct psychiatric research planning under the Carter administration. He began writing political articles for *The New Republic* and, in 1980, became a speechwriter for Vice President Walter Mondale. He contributed to the third edition of the *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders*. In 1984, he became board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Krauthammer joined *The New Republic* as a writer and editor in 1979. In 1983, he started writing essays for *Time* magazine, including one on the Reagan Doctrine that brought him national acclaim. He began writing regular editorials for *The Washington Post* in 1985 and became a nationally syndicated columnist. He coined and developed the term Reagan Doctrine in 1985, and in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he defined the U.S. role as the sole superpower in his essay "The Unipolar Moment." In 1990, he joined the PBS political roundtable *Inside Washington* as a panelist, staying until the show ended in December 2013. He also appeared on Fox News Channel as a contributor for many years. In 2004, his speech "Democratic Realism," delivered when he won the Irving Kristol Award at the American Enterprise Institute, outlined a framework for the post-9/11 world focused on promoting democracy in the Middle East. In 2013, he published *Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics*, which became an immediate bestseller, staying on *The New York Times* bestseller list for 38 weeks and spending 10 consecutive weeks at number one. A posthumous book, *The Point of It All*, was edited by his son Daniel.
Krauthammer received acclaim for his foreign policy writing. He was a leading conservative voice who advocated for U.S. military and political engagement globally, coining the term Reagan Doctrine and supporting both the Gulf War and the Iraq War. In August 2017, due to his battle with cancer, he stopped writing his column and appearing on Fox News. He died on June 21, 2018.
- born
- March 13, 1950, Manhattan, New York City
- died
- June 21, 2018, Atlanta, Georgia
- field
- Political columnist, psychiatrist
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist, coining the Reagan Doctrine, a
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Krauthammer was born on March 13, 1950, in Manhattan, New York City. His father, Shulim Krauthammer, was from Bolekhiv, Ukraine (then the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and later became a naturalized citizen of France. His mother, Thea (née Horowitz), was from Antwerp, Belgium. The family spoke French in the household. When he was five, the family moved to Montreal. Through the school year they resided in Montreal, and spent the summers in Long Beach, New York. Both of his parents were Orthodox Jews, and he graduated from Herzliah High School. Krauthammer attended McGill University in Montreal, graduating in 1970 with first-class honours in economics and political science. He later said: 'I detested the extreme Left and extreme Right, and found myself somewhere in the middle.' The following year, he studied as a Commonwealth Scholar in politics at Balliol College, Oxford, before returning to the United States to attend medical school at Harvard. A diving accident during his first year of medical school left him paralyzed from the waist down. He remained with his Harvard Medical School class during his hospitalization, graduating in 1975. From 1975 through 1978, he was a resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as chief resident his final year. During that time, he identified a variant of manic depression that he named secondary mania, publishing his findings in the Archives of General Psychiatry. In 1978, he relocated to Washington, D.C., to direct planning in psychiatric research under the Carter administration. He began contributing articles about politics to The New Republic and, in 1980, served as a speechwriter to Vice President Walter Mondale. He contributed to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In 1984, he was board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. In 1979, Krauthammer joined The New Republic as both a writer and editor. In 1983, he began writing essays for Time magazine, including one on the Reagan Doctrine, which first brought him national acclaim as a writer. He began writing regular editorials for The Washington Post in 1985 and became a nationally syndicated columnist. Krauthammer coined and developed the term Reagan Doctrine in 1985, and he defined the U.S. role as sole superpower in his essay 'The Unipolar Moment', published shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In 1990, he became a panelist for the weekly PBS political roundtable Inside Washington, remaining with the show until it ceased production in December 2013. He also appeared on Fox News Channel as a contributor for many years. In August 2017, due to his battle with cancer, Krauthammer stopped writing his column and serving as a Fox News contributor. He died on June 21, 2018, of small intestine cancer at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
Reader's Guide
Charles Krauthammer's significance lies in his transformation from a psychiatrist to one of the most influential conservative columnists of his era. He coined the term 'Reagan Doctrine' in 1985 and defined the U.S. role as the sole superpower in his essay 'The Unipolar Moment' after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. His advocacy for the Gulf War and the Iraq War reflected his belief in American military and political engagement globally. Krauthammer also served on President George W. Bush's Council on Bioethics starting in 2002. He supported relaxing the Bush administration's limits on federal funding of discarded human embryonic stem cell research, but opposed human cloning. His 2013 book 'Things That Matter' became an immediate bestseller, remaining on The New York Times bestseller list for 38 weeks and spending 10 weeks in a row at number one. His posthumously released book 'The Point of It All: A Lifetime of Great Loves and Endeavors' was published in December 2018. His legacy includes shaping conservative foreign policy discourse and influencing public debate on national issues for over three decades.
Did You Know?
- Krauthammer became permanently paralyzed from the waist down after a diving board accident severed his spinal cord at cervical spinal nerve 5 during his first year at Harvard Medical School.
- He identified a variant of manic depression that he named 'secondary mania' and published his findings in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
- Krauthammer's 2013 book 'Things That Matter' spent 10 consecutive weeks at number one on The New York Times bestseller list.
- In the 2016 presidential election, he refused to support either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and declared his intention to cast a write-in vote.
- Krauthammer co-founded Pro Musica Hebraica, a not-for-profit organization devoted to presenting Jewish classical music in a concert hall setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Charles Krauthammer?
Charles Krauthammer (1950–2018) was an American psychiatrist turned political columnist who became one of the most widely read conservative voices in the United States. His weekly opinion piece ran in over 400 newspapers and magazines around the world.
What is Charles Krauthammer most famous for?
He is best remembered for winning the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing at The Washington Post and for coining the term "Reagan Doctrine," which framed U.S. Cold War strategy of arming anti-communist insurgents. His columns gave a intellectual backbone to the neoconservative foreign-policy movement of the 1980s and 1990s.
What happened to Krauthammer's body during his youth?
In his first year at Harvard Medical School, a diving-board accident severed his spinal cord at the fifth cervical vertebra, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. He spent roughly fourteen months in a hospital before beginning his long rehabilitation and eventual return to public life.
Why is Charles Krauthammer considered important in political commentary?
He helped translate complex foreign-policy debates into accessible newspaper language for a mass audience and gave the Reagan administration a memorable doctrinal label that shaped U.S. strategy for a decade. His evolution from a moderate liberal to an independent conservative also made him a recurring figure in debates about ideological drift among public intellectuals.
How did Charles Krauthammer's life end?
Krauthammer died on June 21, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 68. His passing was widely covered in the same syndicated outlets that had carried his columns for decades.
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