George Frost Kennan headshot

George Frost Kennan

Past Faculty
School of Historical Studies

Diplomatic History

Affiliation

Historical Studies

George Frost Kennan, an expert on the diplomatic history of Russia, the Soviet Union, and U.S.–Soviet relations, joined the Faculty of the School of Historical Studies in 1956. Kennan is perhaps best known as the author of the “Long Telegram,” dispatched in 1946 to Secretary of State James Byrnes, which proposed a new approach to U.S.-Soviet relations and defined the terms of the Cold War. While the Institute was Professor Kennan’s academic home, he moved between the diplomatic and academic worlds, serving as Ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1952 and to Yugoslavia in 1960–63.

Dates at IAS

Emeritus
School of Historical Studies
Faculty
School of Historical Studies
Member
School of Historical Studies
Member
School of Historical Studies

Degrees

Berlin Seminary for Oriental L
Diploma
1931

Honors

Harvard Univ
Hon Degrees Oxford Univ
Member (former Pres) Am Acad Arts & Letters
Member German Order of Merit
National Book Awards (2)
Pulitzer Prizes (2)
Woodrow Wilson Award Princeton Univ
Yale Univ & Princeton Univ