Edgar Kemler

Edgar Kemler was born in 1916 in Baltimore and attended Johns Hopkins University, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1936. He received a graduate degree in public administration from Harvard University as a Littauer Fellow in 1940. During this time, he published his first book, The Deflation of American Ideals: A Guide for Ethical New Dealers.

With the start of World War II, Kemler became a 90-day wonder; after a shortened training period, he served as a lieutenant junior grade commander of a landing craft infantry in the Mediterranean. At the end of the war, he married and worked on writing the history of the United States Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk, Virginia. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where in 1950 he wrote his second book, The Irreverent Mr. Mencken, published by Little Brown.

During the 1950s, Kemler became a Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine, publishing numerous articles. He also fathered three children: a daughter in 1951 and twin boys in 1957. In 1957 he joined the faculty of Howard University as an instructor in government and taught until his death in 1960.