Barbara Goldsmith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Goldsmith
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Goldsmith in January 2009 at 78 years old.
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| Born | Barbara Joan Lubun May 18, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 2016 (aged 85) United States |
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| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Wellesley College (B.A., 1953) |
| Genre | Journalism |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Barbara Goldsmith (May 18, 1931 – June 26, 2016) was an American author, journalist, and someone who loved to help others (a philanthropist). She was well-known for her popular books, articles, and her work helping people.
She earned many awards and four special doctorates (called honoris causa). She was chosen to be part of important groups like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was also honored by places like The New York Public Library and The Authors Guild. In 2009, she received a special medal from Poland. In 2008, she was named a "Living Landmark" in New York. Barbara Goldsmith had three children and six grandchildren. The Financial Times newspaper said she left behind a legacy of art, literature, friends, family, and helping others.
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Barbara Goldsmith's Early Life
Barbara Goldsmith was born Barbara Joan Lubun in New York City in 1931. She went to Wellesley College and earned a degree in English in 1953. After that, she studied art at Columbia University.
Her first jobs as a journalist were about art. She also started collecting art, mostly modern American paintings and sculptures. When she was in her early twenties, she wrote award-winning stories about famous Hollywood stars like Clark Gable and Audrey Hepburn. In the late 1960s, she started a series called "The Creative Environment." For this, she interviewed famous artists and designers like Pablo Picasso about how they created their work.
Her "Creative Environment" series caught the attention of Clay Felker, an editor at the New York Herald Tribune. When that newspaper closed, Barbara Goldsmith helped Felker buy the rights to its magazine. In 1968, she became a founding editor and writer for New York magazine. There, she wrote about art and the interesting people in the art world. She even won an Emmy award for a TV special she wrote called "Bacall and the Boys" in 1968.
In 1974, Barbara Goldsmith became an advisor for the Hearst Corporation. She then became a Senior Editor at Harper’s Bazaar magazine, where she brought in many top writers.
Barbara Goldsmith's Best-Selling Books
Barbara Goldsmith decided to focus on writing books from the mid-1970s. She still wrote for magazines like the New Yorker and the New York Times, but her books became very successful and popular.
Her first book, The Straw Man, was published in 1975. It was a novel about the art world in New York. The story was about a wealthy family's art collection and a legal fight over a will. The book became a number one bestseller.
In 1980, she published her second book, Little Gloria...Happy at Last. This true story was about a famous custody battle in the 1930s involving Gloria Vanderbilt. The book was a huge hit, reaching the top of The New York Times bestseller list. It was even made into a movie by Paramount Pictures and a TV mini-series by NBC. Barbara Goldsmith won an Emmy for her work on the mini-series.
Her third book, Johnson v. Johnson, came out in 1987. It told the story of the longest and most expensive will contest in U.S. history. This book also became a bestseller and received great reviews.
In 1998, Goldsmith completed Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull. This book was about women in the late 1800s who fought for equal rights and the right to vote. It was praised for its rich story and complex characters. The book was a finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize.
Her last book, Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie, has been translated into 21 languages around the world. This book was based on the private writings of Marie Curie, which had been kept secret for 60 years because they were still radioactive. The book won an award for the Best Book of 2006 from the American Institute of Physics. It also helped Barbara Goldsmith receive the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit medal from Poland in 2009.
Barbara Goldsmith received the highest honor from her college, Wellesley College, in 2013. She also won the Erwin Piscator Honorary Award for her writing that same year. She passed away on June 26, 2016, at the age of 85.
How Barbara Goldsmith Helped Others
Vartan Gregorian, the President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, once listed Barbara Goldsmith as one of America's ten most helpful people (philanthropists). He especially noted her work to make sure books and documents could last for 300 years instead of falling apart quickly. She also helped get $20 million from the government for this important work.
She donated money to create two special labs for preserving and protecting books at The New York Public Library and New York University. At New York University, she also funded lectures in honor of her father and a series on preservation. In 2010, the New York Public Library Services Center opened its state-of-the-art Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Divisions. She also helped fund a rare book library at the American Academy in Rome and a preservation center at Wellesley College.
In 1968, she helped start the Center for Learning Disabilities at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1974, she worked to get safety mats installed under swings and slides in every park in New York City.
Barbara Goldsmith also created the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. This award highlights writers in 113 countries who have been imprisoned or harmed for expressing their ideas. Since 1987, 34 out of 37 imprisoned writers who received this award were released, often within months. This award was very important in starting the campaign that led to the Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo winning the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Awards and Honors
Barbara Goldsmith received many important awards throughout her life. Here are some of them:
- Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Award (2013)
- Erwin Piscator Honorary Award (2013)
- Woman of Achievement Award from the Women's Project Theater (2012)
- Named a New York “Living Landmark” (November 2008)
- Honored by Literacy Partners for Lifetime Achievements in the Arts (May 2009)
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (April 2000)
- Authors Guild Award for Distinguished Literary Achievements (2007)
- Her book Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie won the "best book on physics written by a non-physicist" award.
- Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit medal from the Republic of Poland (2009)
- National Archives Award for contributions to American History.
- Honored as a Literary Lion by The New York Public Library.
- Emmy for the CBS special “Bacall and the Boys”.
- Two television Emmys as writer and executive producer for Little Gloria…Happy At Last.
- Her book Other Powers was a finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize (1998).
- Presidential Citation from William Jefferson Clinton (1998).
- Presidential appointment to the Presidential Commission for the Celebration of Women in American History (1999).
- New York Times notable books list.
- Association of American Publishers best non-fiction award.
- Boston Globe best book of the year.
- New York University Presidential Citation (1993).
- The Brandeis Library Trust Award for outstanding writing.
- The Guild Hall Lifetime Literary Achievement Award.
- Poets & Writers “Writers for Writers” Award (1999).
Organizations Barbara Goldsmith Was Part Of
Barbara Goldsmith was involved with several important organizations:
- The New York Public Library: She was a Trustee since 1987 and served on many committees.
- American Academy in Rome: She was a Trustee since 1994.
- The Dorothy & Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars & Writers: She was on the Advisory Board since it started in 1999.
- PEN (Poets, Essayist, Novelists) American Center: She was a Trustee and helped create the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.
