Photo: 不明 / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
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
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- satirist / literary critic / essayist / social critic / autobiographer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.%20L.%20Mencken
Frequently asked questions
When was H. L. Mencken born?
September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956.
Where is H. L. Mencken from?
H. L. Mencken is from Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
What does H. L. Mencken do?
H. L. Mencken works as satirist, literary critic, essayist, social critic, autobiographer.
Literary critic — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-18
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.