John T. Cunningham

John T. Cunningham was an American journalist, writer, and historian who published numerous works related to the history of his native state, New Jersey. Long known as "New Jersey’s popular historian", his This is New Jersey, originally published in 1953, has never gone out of print. Cunningham work has also included collaboration on several documentaries and frequent speaking engagements.

Early life and career

Cunningham was born in Newark, New Jersey on June 26, 1915, one of eight children of Guy Cunningham and Margaret Morrissey. He was raised in the Brookside section of Mendham Township, New Jersey near Morristown, where he graduated from Morristown High School in 1932, and later able to pay tuition, he graduated from Drew University in 1938. He worked briefly for the Morristown Record, to which he had been contributing local interest articles since high school, and in 1939 was hired by the Newark News. During World War II, became a captain in the Army Air Corps. He returned to The News in 1946 and stayed until 1963, when he began writing and publishing full-time.

Later career

Cunningham began his writing about history while working at the Newark News, where, around 1947, he was assigned a column called "Let's Explore." He said,"My goals did not include either the writing of books or becoming a historian," but he became well respected as a historian and writer.
"I doubt if there is a community in this state that I couldn't tell you about," he declared."I consider myself a journalist rather than a historian. A journalist lets it fall where it should. We approach things with an open mind, while historians tend to take a subject and find the material to prove their point."
The New York Times said that while Cunningham's books are not considered academic works since illustrations are common and footnotes are rare, they are concise, energetic and well regarded among their genre.
In the 1970s, he and his wife founded Afton Publishing, and he helped establish the New Jersey Historical Commission. He lived in Florham Park, New Jersey, where he continued his work. Cunningham died on June 7, 2012, from natural causes at a Morristown Medical Center.

Selected works (to 1997)

Histories

Baseball In New Jersey: The Game of History
Beginnings
Capsules of New Jersey History
A Century of Progress a history of Passaic County
Chatham: At the Crossing of the Fishawack
Chatham and Madison, Images of America Series
Clara Maas: A Nurse, a Hospital, a Spirit
Colonial New Jersey
Garden State: The Story of Agriculture in New Jersey
The East of Jersey
Made in New Jersey
Newark
New Jersey, America's Main Road
On the Right Track, a history of the Madison Y.M.C.A.
The New Jersey Sampler: Historic Tales of Old New Jersey
New Jersey's Five Who Signed, on the Declaration of Independence
New Jersey's Rich Harvest: A Brief History Agriculture in New Jersey
The New Jersey Shore
Railroading in New Jersey
Railroads in New Jersey: The Formative Years
Remembering Essex, with Charles Cummings,
This Is New Jersey
Thomas Edison: They Called Him Wizard
''University in the Forest: The Story of Drew University''

Textbooks

New Jersey: A Mirror on America, for high school
On the Go in New Jersey, elementary,
On the Go in New York, elementary,
On the Go in Pennsylvania, elementary,
You, New Jersey And the World, elementary, digital

Photo essays

These works were created in collaboration with Walter Choroszewski:

The Garden State in Bloom
New Jersey: A Scenic Discovery
New Jersey: A Photographic Journey
New Jersey: Naturescapes and Detail
''New Jersey: A Photographic Celebration''

Documentaries

New Jersey Legacy series