{{Short description|American political scientist and public intellectual (1929–2026)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox academic | name = Andrew Hacker | birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|8|30}} | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|4|21|1929|8|30}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | occupation = Academic and political scientist | spouse = {{Marriage|Claudia Dreifus|2011}} | children = 1 | parents = Louis M. Hacker | education = Amherst College | alma_mater = University of Oxford<br>Princeton University | sub_discipline = Political scientist | workplaces = Cornell University<br>Queens College | notable_works = ''The Math Myth'' | image = Andrew Hacker.webp | caption = at Queens College in 2004 }} '''Andrew Hacker''' (August 30, 1929 – April 21, 2026) was an American political scientist and public intellectual.
==Life and career== Andrew Hacker was born in Manhattan on August 30, 1929. He was the son of Louis M. Hacker – a professor of economics at Columbia University. His mother, Lilian, was also on the faculty as a lecturer at the Teachers College. He was educated at the Lincoln School which was an experimental and progressive school, run by the Teachers College to try new methods of education. After the 10th grade, he transferred to the Horace Mann School in the Bronx which was a similar experimental school run by the Teachers College.{{r|Horrocks|NYT26}}
He did his undergraduate work at Amherst College, followed by graduate work at the University of Oxford and Princeton University, where he received his PhD degree.{{r|FOASAA|NYT26}}
He was a professor in the department of political science at Queens College in New York.<ref name="NYT26" /> Hacker taught at Cornell before taking his position at Queens.<ref name="NYT26" />
Hacker was a member of Mark Lane's ''Citizens’ Committee of Inquiry'', and introduced Lane to Edward Jay Epstein.<ref name="Lane" /> Hacker was described by Epstein as the "initial stimulus" for his master's thesis which he later developed into his book ''Inquest'' (1966) that was critical of the Warren Commission.<ref name="Epstein" />
His book ''Higher Education?'' was written in collaboration with his wife, Claudia Dreifus.<ref name="NYT26" /> In his article ''Is Algebra Necessary?'', Hacker questioned whether mathematics is necessary, claiming "Making mathematics mandatory prevents us from discovering and developing young talent."<ref name="NYT16" />
Hacker died at a hospital in Manhattan on April 21, 2026, at the age of 96, from complications of stomach cancer.<ref name="NYT26" />
==Publications== * Hacker, A., (1961) ''Political Theory: Philosophy, Ideology, Science'', The Macmillan Company * Hacker, A., (1968) ''The'' ''End of the American Era.'' New York: Atheneum * Hacker, A., (1992) ''Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal'', Scribner. {{ISBN|0-7432-3824-9}} * Hacker, A., (1998) ''Money: Who Has How Much and Why,'' Simon and Schuster. {{ISBN|0-684-84662-4}} * Hacker, A., (2003) ''Mismatch: The Growing Gulf Between Women and Men.'' Scribner. {{ISBN|0-684-86252-2}} * Hacker, A. and Claudia Dreifus, (2010) ''Higher Education?: How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids - and What We Can Do About It'' Holt, Henry & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-8050-8734-5}} * Hacker, A., (2012) "Is Algebra Necessary?", New York Times, Published July 28, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html * Hacker, A., (2016) "The Math Myth: And Other STEM Delusions," The New Press. {{ISBN|978-1620970683}} * Hacker, A., (2020) ''Downfall: The Demise of a President and His Party'', Skyhorse Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-5107-6019-6}}
==References== <references> <ref name="NYT26">{{cite news |last1=McFadden |first1=Robert D. |title=Andrew Hacker, Provocative Political Scientist, Dies at 96 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/books/andrew-hacker-dead.html |access-date=April 21, 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=April 21, 2026|author-link=Robert D. McFadden|url-access=registration|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
<ref name="Horrocks">{{Cite interview |last=Hacker |first=Louis M. |interviewer=David Horrocks |title=Louis M. Hacker – David Horrocks |url=https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/oral-histories/oral-history-transcripts/hacker-louis-347.pdf |access-date=April 24, 2026 |publisher=Dwight D. Eisenhower Library |date=May 15, 1975 |page=3|quote=My first child was born in 1929, that was my son Andrew ...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515181635/https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/oral-histories/oral-history-transcripts/hacker-louis-347.pdf|archive-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="Lane">{{cite book |last1=Lane |first1=Mark |title=A Citizen's Dissent |date=1968 |publisher=Fawcett Crest |pages=41–42|oclc=385224|lccn=68-13044|asin=B00005VLU6}}</ref>
<ref name="Epstein">{{cite book |last1=Epstein |first1=Edward Jay |title=Inquest; the Warren Commission and the establishment of truth |date=1966 |publisher=Viking Press |page=16|isbn=978-0670398492}}</ref>
<ref name="NYT16">{{Cite news |last=Hacker |first=Andrew |date=July 28, 2012 |title=Opinion {{!}} Is Algebra Necessary? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/is-algebra-necessary.html |url-access=registration |access-date=February 11, 2016 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
<ref name=FOASAA>{{citation |work=Full Opportunity and Social Accounting Act : Hearings before the Subcommittee on Government... |year=1967 |volume=Part 2 |page=289 |title=Biographical Sketch: Dr. Andrew Hacker |publisher=US Government Printing Office |location=washington}}</ref> </references>
==External links== * "The Math Myth And Other STEM Delusions"—an argument that requiring all students to master a full menu of mathematics is causing more harm than good. http://themathmyth.net/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211080539/http://themathmyth.net/ |date=February 11, 2016 }} * Author page at [https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/andrew-hacker/ The New York Review of Books] * Blurb written by the author for "Mismatch" on the Simon and Schuster [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311000523/http://simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?sid=33&pid=410054&agid=2 website] * Article about Claudia Dreifus at the East Hampton Star [https://www.easthamptonstar.com/archive/five-women-writers website] *{{IMDb name| 4053930}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hacker, Andrew}} Category:1929 births Category:2026 deaths Category:American political scientists Category:Cornell University faculty Category:Amherst College alumni Category:Horace Mann School alumni Category:Queens College, City University of New York faculty Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in New York (state)