John P.C. Matthews ’51

Born April 18, 1929, John was the son of Thomas S. Matthews ’22 and Juliana Cuyler Matthews, grandson of Paul Matthews 1887, and nephew of four Cuylers who also were Princeton graduates.

John prepared at South Kent School. He was an English major at Princeton and a member of Charter, St. Paul’s Society, the SCA, and the rugby and hockey clubs. He roomed with Richard Hilliard, Alain Prévost, and Ralph Woodward.

After graduation, John worked for Radio Free Europe (RFE) in Munich, returning home to work as program director for the Foreign Policy Association’s World Affairs Center, and Princeton’s Development in International Affairs program. For many years he was director of academic exchange programs for Eastern Europe at the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), where he deepened the knowledge of Soviet communism first gained at RFE that was so fundamental to his literary career.  

His two most recent books are 2005’s Tinderbox and 2006’s Explosion, the definitive account of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

John married Verna Damon in 1951. He died Jan. 29, 2010, of cancer. He is survived by Verna; his sons, John Cuyler and Christopher; four granddaughters; and his brothers, Paul and Alexander. His sons, Thomas and Philip, and his brother, Thomas S. Jr. ’48, predeceased him.