Michael Kernan

Michael Jenkins Kernan Jr. (April 29, 1927 – May 4, 2005) was an American author and journalist.

Background Kernan was born on April 29, 1927, in Utica, New York, and grew up outside Clinton, Oneida County, New York. His father, Michael J. Kernan (1884–1953), was a stockbroker and member of the New York State Senate. His great-grandfather Francis Kernan (1816–1892) was a U.S. Senator. Kernan graduated from Harvard University in 1949. He died on May 4, 2000, aged 78, in Bennington, Vermont.

Works Kernan published a work of non-fiction The Violet Dots (1978) about a British soldier who fought in the Battle of the Somme, and the novels The Lost Diaries of Frans Hals (1994) and Before (2001), a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

He published more than 100 articles for the Smithsonian Magazine, including seven years writing the "Around the Mall and Beyond" column. "War Casualty" (review of Let There Be Light by John Huston, republished in 2012 from 1981) "Mortal Thoughts" (review of Enter Sandman by Stephanie Williams)