# David Perlman > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_Perlman > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_Perlman.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Perlman > Source revision: 1318499612 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **David Perlman** (December 30, 1918 – June 19, 2020)[1] was an American [science journalist](/source/Science_journalism) based in [San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco), who was the science editor for the *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)*.[2] ## Early life and education Perlman was born in [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore), [Maryland](/source/Maryland), and raised on the [Upper West Side](/source/Upper_West_Side) of [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan).[3] Perlman graduated from [Columbia College](/source/Columbia_College_(New_York)), where he worked for the student newspaper *[Columbia Daily Spectator](/source/Columbia_Daily_Spectator)* in 1939 and the [Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism](/source/Columbia_University_Graduate_School_of_Journalism) in 1940.[4] ## Career He began his career as a reporter in 1940[5] at the *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle),* where he started covering science in 1957, after breaking his leg while skiing and reading about astronomy during his recovery.[6][5][7] He became the *Chronicle*'s science editor emeritus after retiring in August 2017 at the age of 98.[8][6] In a 2017 interview for *[Poynter](/source/Poynter_Institute)*, he stated that cuts to science coverage in the media are "absolutely obscene" and create "a generation with a major disability in what they can think about and understand."[6][2] In 2000, the [American Geological Union](/source/American_Geophysical_Union) recognized his contributions to science news reporting by instituting the "David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism—News".[9] A former president of the [National Association of Science Writers](/source/National_Association_of_Science_Writers) and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, he was a Fellow of the [California Academy of Sciences](/source/California_Academy_of_Sciences). He was the recipient of journalism awards from the [American Association for the Advancement of Science](/source/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science), the [Society of Professional Journalists](/source/Society_of_Professional_Journalists), the [American Chemical Society](/source/American_Chemical_Society), the [American Geophysical Union](/source/American_Geophysical_Union) and the [United States Geological Survey](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey).[8] ## Death Perlman died on June 19, 2020, at the age of 101.[10] ## References 1. Fagan, Kevin (19 June 2020). ["David Perlman, award-winning Chronicle science writer, dies at age 101"](https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/David-Perlman-award-winning-Chronicle-science-15353853.php). *San Francisco Chronicle*. Retrieved 2020-06-19. 1. Johnston, Ian (28 July 2017). ["Science journalist retires at 98 and warns of generation of Americans with thinking 'disability'"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/science-journalist-thinking-disability-david-perlman-generation-americans-climate-change-global-a7864551.html). *The Independent*. Retrieved 2018-01-20. 1. Horgan, Richard (August 4, 2017). ["San Francisco Chronicle Toasts 98-Year-Old Outgoing Science Editor David Perlman"](https://www.adweek.com/digital/san-francisco-chronicle-david-perlman-retirement/). *www.adweek.com*. Retrieved June 21, 2020. 1. ["Dean of American Science Writing"](https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/nov_dec09/features). *Columbia College Today*. November–December 2009. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160915222653/https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/nov_dec09/features) 2016-09-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 7, 2020. 1. Kilgannon, Corey (2009-04-26). ["San Francisco Reporter, 90, Covers Science Beat With Verve"](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/business/media/27chronicle.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2018-01-20. 1. Funke, Daniel (26 July 2017). ["He's spent nearly 7 decades at The San Francisco Chronicle. This year, at 98, he's retiring."](https://www.poynter.org/news/hes-spent-nearly-7-decades-san-francisco-chronicle-year-98-hes-retiring). *Poynter*. Retrieved 2018-01-20. 1. La Ganga, Maria L. (2013-02-21). ["Science writer is quite the specimen himself: He's 94"](https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2013-feb-21-la-me-perlman-20130222-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. [ISSN 0458-3035](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0458-3035). Retrieved 2018-01-20. 1. ["David Perlman, Science Editor Emeritus - San Francisco Chronicle"](https://www.sfchronicle.com/author/david-perlman/). *www.sfchronicle.com*. Retrieved 2018-01-20. 1. ["David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism - News - Honors Program"](https://honors.agu.org/medals-awards/david-perlman-award-for-excellence-in-science-journalism-news/). *Honors Program*. Retrieved 2018-01-20. 1. Russell, Cristine. ["RIP David Perlman, the Dean of American Science Writing"](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/rip-david-perlman-the-dean-of-american-science-writing/). *Scientific American Blog Network*. Retrieved 2020-06-21. ## External links - [Science History Institute: The story of the 1975 Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA](https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/science-interrupted/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Perlman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Perlman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Perlman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.