Arnold A. Rogow *53

Arnold A. Rogow, political scientist and author of psychoanalytic biographies, died Feb. 14, 2006, in Manhattan from complications of a stroke. He was 81.

Perhaps best known for his book, A Fatal Friendship: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, Rogow married his psychoanalytic knowledge as a practicing psychotherapist to his academic concerns as a political scientist and biographer. Hamilton, he argued, was a manic depressive whose obsessive hatred of Burr led to the duel — and the decision not to fire — which ended Hamilton’s life. Rogow’s Freudian approach to politics and the past earned him an international reputation.

Born in Harrisburg, Pa., Rogow lost both his parents in early childhood. His college studies were interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Battle of the Bulge and won numerous medals. He had the distinction as well of befriending Gertrude Stein while in Paris and giving her his combat infantry badge.

After the war, Rogow earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton and taught for many years at the University of Iowa, Stanford, and City College of New York, from which he retired as professor emeritus.

Rogow is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, and his companion, Martha Moraes.