Lewis Henry Lapham II (1935 - 2024) was an American writer and editor best known for his influential tenure at Harper’s Magazine and for founding Lapham’s Quarterly, a journal of history and ideas. He studied History at Magdalene College, Cambridge University, graduating in 1956.
Lapham began his journalism career at the San Francisco Examiner and the New York Herald Tribune before joining Harper’s Magazine, where he served multiple terms as editor, ultimately becoming editor emeritus in 2006. In recognition of his contributions to journalism, he was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame in 2007.
A prolific essayist known for his wit and incisive social commentary, Lapham authored numerous books, including Money and Class in America, The Wish for Kings, and Pretensions to Empire. Lapham passed away in July 2024 at the age of 89. Learn more.