PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Carl Sagan

American Jewish astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator whose book The Dragons of Eden won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.

United States

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic Domain

Biography

Carl Edward Sagan (1934–1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, author and science communicator. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied physics and astronomy at the University of Chicago and later became a professor at Cornell University. Sagan contributed to major NASA planetary missions, including Mariner, Viking and Voyager, and helped shape scientific discussion about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. His books and television work made astronomy and planetary science accessible to millions of people worldwide. In 1978, his book The Dragons of Eden won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Sagan later created and presented the influential television series Cosmos and remained one of the best-known public advocates for science of the twentieth century.

Records held by Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan with Mariner 9 images of Mars.

JWR Verified

Awards · Pulitzer PrizeFirst

First Jewish Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

Record holder

Carl Sagan

Record value

17 April 1978

Carl Sagan became the first Jewish recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction when The Dragons of Eden was named the 1978 winner on 17 April 1978. The book explored the evolution of human intelligence and the development of the brain, bringing complex scientific ideas to a broad public audience. The official Pulitzer site confirms Sagan as the 1978 General Nonfiction winner and features a 1977 Tonight Show interview in which he discusses the ideas in The Dragons of Eden. JWR uses the announcement date as the Record Value because Pulitzer winners in 1978 did not receive their awards at a modern presentation ceremony; the annual Pulitzer awards luncheon began only in 1984.

Country represented: United States
Achievement location: New York, New York, United States
Achievement date: 17 April 1978

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