John Derbyshire

For the swimmer, see John Derbyshire (swimmer).

John Derbyshire
Derbyshire in June 2001
Born (1945-06-03) 3 June 1945 (age 79)
Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity College London,
University of London
Occupation(s)Computer programmer, journalist, political commentator
WebsiteJohnDerbyshire.com

John Derbyshire (born 3 June 1945) is a British-born American computer programmer, journalist, and political commentator. He was noted for being one of the last paleoconservatives at the National Review,[1][2] until he was fired in 2012 for writing an article for Taki's Magazine that was widely viewed as racist.[3] Since 2012 he has written for white nationalist website VDARE.[2][4]

In the article that caused his firing, Derbyshire suggested that white and East Asian parents should talk to their children about the threats posed to their safety by black people. He also recommended that parents tell their children not to live in predominantly black communities.[3] He included the line "If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date."[3]

He has also written for the New English Review. His columns cover political-cultural topics, including immigration, China, history, mathematics, and race.[5][6] Derbyshire's 1996 novel about Chinese American immigrants, Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream, was a New York Times "Notable Book of the Year".[7] His 2004 non-fiction book Prime Obsession won the Mathematical Association of America's inaugural Euler Book Prize.[8] A political book, We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism, was released in September 2009.[9]

  1. ^ "Re: Paleocons On Immigration". National Review. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Matthews, Dylan (6 May 2016). "Paleoconservatism, the movement that explains Donald Trump, explained". Vox. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Byers, Dylan (7 April 2012). "National Review fires John Derbyshire". POLITICO. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference splc-vdare was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "John Derbyshire archive". National Review Online. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  6. ^ "Articles by John Derbyshire at New English Review". New English Review. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Notable Books of the Year 1996". The New York Times. 8 December 1996. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. ^ "The Mathematical Association of America's Euler Book Prize". MAA Online. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  9. ^ Nagle, Angela (2017). Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right. John Hunt Publishing. Right wing voices that claim to have been purged from the conservative movement, like Peter Brimelow and John Derbyshire, have formed part of the alt-right.