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H. L. Mencken was born on September 12, 1880 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. H. L. Mencken was a satirist, literary critic and essayist. Death is recorded on January 29, 1956, at the age of 75.
My Take
H. L. Mencken remains one of the sharpest pens America ever produced, and I read him with equal parts delight and discomfort. A Baltimore newspaperman turned cultural assassin, he skewered politicians, the public, and pieties alike, branding the Scopes affair the Monkey Trial with a wit that still stings. Great satire demands both intelligence and nerve, and Mencken sustained that combination across a lifetime. That he was also a serious scholar of American English tells me his cruelty came from love of language, not mere contempt. Writers this fearless and this precise are vanishingly rare today.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- H. L. Mencken
- Name (Japanese)
- H・L・メンケン
- Reading
- H・L・めんけん
- Born
- September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Dragon
- Origin
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Occupation
- satirist / literary critic / essayist / social critic / autobiographer
2. Links
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.%20L.%20Mencken
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q439204
3. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-18
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was H. L. Mencken born?
Born September 12, 1880.
When did H. L. Mencken die?
Died January 29, 1956, aged 75.
Where was H. L. Mencken from?
H. L. Mencken was from Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
What did H. L. Mencken do?
H. L. Mencken worked as satirist, literary critic, essayist, social critic, autobiographer.
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