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{{short description|American paleoconservative}} {{short description|American paleoconservative}}
{{For|the swimmer|John Derbyshire (swimmer)}} {{For|the swimmer|John Derbyshire (swimmer)}}
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| image = JohnDerbyshire1.jpg | image = JohnDerbyshire1.jpg
| image_size = 225px | image_size = 225px
| caption = June 2001 | caption = Derbyshire in June 2001
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1945|06|03}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1945|06|03}}
| birth_place = ], Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom | birth_place = ], Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom
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| death_place = | death_place =
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| citizenship = United States of America | citizenship = United States
| nationality = | nationality =
| known_for = | known_for =
| employer = | employer =
| occupation = Writer, commentator, computer programmer | occupation = Computer programmer, journalist, political commentator
| alma_mater = ],<br /> ] | alma_mater = ],<br /> ]
| website = | website =
}} }}


'''John Derbyshire''' (born 3 June 1945) is a British-born American political commentator, writer, journalist and computer programmer. He was noted for being one of the last ]s in the '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/re-paleocons-immigration-john-derbyshire/|title=Re: Paleocons On Immigration|website=] |date=19 March 2003|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=vox>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/6/11592604/donald-trump-paleoconservative-buchanan|title=Paleoconservatism, the movement that explains Donald Trump, explained|first=Dylan|last=Matthews|date=6 May 2016|website=Vox|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref> until he was fired in 2012 for writing an article for '']'' that was widely viewed as racist.<ref name="Byers" /> Since 2012 he has written for ] website ].<ref name=vox/><ref name="splc-vdare" /> '''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 ]s at the '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/re-paleocons-immigration-john-derbyshire/|title=Re: Paleocons On Immigration|website=] |date=19 March 2003|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=vox>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/6/11592604/donald-trump-paleoconservative-buchanan|title=Paleoconservatism, the movement that explains Donald Trump, explained|first=Dylan|last=Matthews|date=6 May 2016|website=Vox|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref> until he was fired in 2012 for writing an article for '']'' that was widely viewed as racist.<ref name="Byers" /> Since 2012 he has written for ] website ].<ref name=vox/><ref name="splc-vdare" />


In the article that caused his firing, Derbyshire suggested that white and 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.<ref name="Byers">{{cite web |last1=Byers |first1=Dylan |title=National Review fires John Derbyshire |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/04/national-review-fires-john-derbyshire-119887 |website=POLITICO |access-date=9 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Byers" /> In the article that caused his firing, Derbyshire suggested that ] and ] parents should talk to their children about the threats posed to their safety by ]. He also recommended that parents tell their children not to live in predominantly black communities.<ref name="Byers">{{cite web |last1=Byers |first1=Dylan |title=National Review fires John Derbyshire |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/04/national-review-fires-john-derbyshire-119887 |website=POLITICO |date=7 April 2012 |access-date=9 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Byers" />


He has also written for the '']''. His columns cover political-cultural topics, including immigration, China, history, mathematics, and ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/author/56397|title=John Derbyshire archive|magazine=National Review Online|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=2959&sec_id=2959|title=Articles by John Derbyshire at New English Review|magazine=New English Review|access-date=13 April 2007|archive-date=23 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323124213/https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=2959&sec_id=2959|url-status=dead}}</ref> Derbyshire's 1996 novel '']'' was a '']'' "Notable Book of the Year".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/08/books/notable-books-of-the-year-1996.html|title=Notable Books of the Year 1996|date=8 December 1996|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 July 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His 2004 non-fiction book '']'' won the ]'s inaugural ].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Mathematical Association of America's Euler Book Prize|url=http://www.maa.org/Awards/eulerbook.html|publisher=MAA Online|access-date=13 April 2007|archive-date=27 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127024145/http://www.maa.org/awards/eulerbook.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A political book, '']'', was released in September 2009.<ref>{{cite book|first=Angela|last=Nagle|publisher=John Hunt Publishing|title=Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right|year=2017|quote=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.}}</ref> He has also written for the '']''. His columns cover political-cultural topics, including immigration, China, history, mathematics, and ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/author/56397|title=John Derbyshire archive|magazine=National Review Online|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=2959&sec_id=2959|title=Articles by John Derbyshire at New English Review|magazine=New English Review|access-date=13 April 2007|archive-date=23 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323124213/https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=2959&sec_id=2959|url-status=dead}}</ref> Derbyshire's 1996 novel about ] immigrants, '']'', was a '']'' "Notable Book of the Year".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/08/books/notable-books-of-the-year-1996.html|title=Notable Books of the Year 1996|date=8 December 1996|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 July 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His 2004 non-fiction book '']'' won the ]'s inaugural ].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Mathematical Association of America's Euler Book Prize|url=http://www.maa.org/Awards/eulerbook.html|publisher=MAA Online|access-date=13 April 2007|archive-date=27 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127024145/http://www.maa.org/awards/eulerbook.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A political book, '']'', was released in September 2009.<ref>{{cite book|first=Angela|last=Nagle|publisher=John Hunt Publishing|title=Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right|year=2017|quote=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.}}</ref>


== Early life == == Early life ==
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==Career== ==Career==

===''National Review''=== ===''National Review''===
Derbyshire worked as a writer at '']'' until he was terminated in 2012 because of an article published in '']'' that was widely perceived as racist.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Rich|last=Lowry|author-link=Rich Lowry|title = Parting Ways|url = http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/295514/parting-ways-rich-lowry|website = ]|date = 7 April 2012|access-date = 21 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Davidson Sorkin|first1=Amy|title=Why the National Review Fired John Derbyshire|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/why-the-national-review-fired-john-derbyshire|magazine=]|location=New York City|date=9 April 2012|access-date=15 May 2017}}</ref> Derbyshire worked as a writer at '']'' until he was terminated in 2012 because of an article published in '']'' that was widely perceived as racist.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Rich|last=Lowry|author-link=Rich Lowry|title = Parting Ways|url = http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/295514/parting-ways-rich-lowry|website = ]|date = 7 April 2012|access-date = 21 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Davidson Sorkin|first1=Amy|title=Why the National Review Fired John Derbyshire|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/why-the-national-review-fired-john-derbyshire|magazine=]|location=New York City|date=9 April 2012|access-date=15 May 2017}}</ref>


Derbyshire began writing for the far-right website ] in May 2012.<ref name=vox/><ref name="splc-vdare" /> In his first column for the website, Derbyshire wrote "], in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with."<ref name="splc-vdare">{{cite web |title=VDARE |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/vdare |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=5 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Derbyshire began writing for the far-right website ] in May 2012.<ref name=vox/><ref name="splc-vdare" /> In his first column for the website, Derbyshire wrote "], in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with."<ref name="splc-vdare">{{cite web |title=VDARE |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/vdare |access-date=5 April 2023 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en |quote=White supremacy, in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with. There have of course been some blots on the record, but I don't see how it can be denied that net-net, white Europeans have made a better job of running fair and stable societies than has any other group.}}</ref>


===Mathematics=== ===Mathematics===
Derbyshire's book '']: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics'' was first published in hardcover in 2003 and then paperback in 2004. It focuses on the ], one of the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maa.org/reviews/primeobsession.html/ |title=Read This: Prime Obsession |author=S. W. Graham |work=The Mathematical Association of America |access-date=30 October 2009 }}</ref> The book is aimed, as Derbyshire puts it in his prologue, "at the intelligent and curious but nonmathematical reader ..." Derbyshire's book '']: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics'' was first published in hardcover in 2003 and then paperback in 2004. It focuses on the ], one of the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maa.org/reviews/primeobsession.html/ |title=Read This: Prime Obsession |author=S. W. Graham |work=The Mathematical Association of America |access-date=30 October 2009 }}</ref> The book is aimed, as Derbyshire puts it in his prologue, "at the intelligent and curious but nonmathematical reader ..."


''Prime Obsession'' explores such topics as ], ], the ], the ], the ], and others. The biographical sections give relevant information about the lives of mathematicians who worked in these areas, including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], as well as ] himself.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} ''Prime Obsession'' explores such topics as ], ], the ], the ], the ], and others. The biographical sections give relevant information about the lives of mathematicians who worked in these areas, including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], as well as ] himself.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
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===Role in ''Way of the Dragon''=== ===Role in ''Way of the Dragon''===
Derbyshire had an uncredited role in '']'' (released in the United States as ''Return of the Dragon''), a 1972 martial arts film directed by, and starring, ].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/07/twelve_questions_for_john_derb.cfm |title=Twelve questions for John Derbyshire |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=30 October 2009 |date=18 July 2009}}</ref> Of landing the part, Derbyshire said: "The casting director had obviously just trawled around the low-class guesthouses for unemployed foreigners of a sufficiently thuggish appearance."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200310150828.asp|title=Thug (Uncredited)|author=John Derbyshire|date=15 October 2003|work=National Review|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref> Derbyshire had an uncredited role in '']'' (released in the United States as ''Return of the Dragon''), a 1972 martial arts film directed by and starring, actor and martial artist ].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/07/twelve_questions_for_john_derb.cfm |title=Twelve questions for John Derbyshire |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=30 October 2009 |date=18 July 2009}}</ref> Of landing the part, Derbyshire said: "The casting director had obviously just trawled around the low-class guesthouses for unemployed foreigners of a sufficiently thuggish appearance."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200310150828.asp|title=Thug (Uncredited)|author=John Derbyshire|date=15 October 2003|work=National Review|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref>


== Views == == Views ==
{{Conservatism US|commentators}}

Derbyshire writes in general from a small government conservative perspective. He notably ridiculed ]'s "itty-bitty tax cut, paid for by dumping a slew of federal debt on your children and grandchildren,"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2005/05/twilight-conservatism-john-derbyshire/|title=Twilight of Conservatism|author=John Derbyshire|date=10 May 2005|magazine=National Review Online Derbyshire writes in general from a small government conservative perspective. He notably ridiculed ]'s "itty-bitty tax cut, paid for by dumping a slew of federal debt on your children and grandchildren,"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2005/05/twilight-conservatism-john-derbyshire/|title=Twilight of Conservatism|author=John Derbyshire|date=10 May 2005|magazine=National Review Online
|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref> derided Bush as too sure of his religious convictions and for his "rich-kid-ness".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTE3OTdmZWQwZTExMTk5MzQ2NGUxNTQ5YTVlNmZkZjc=|title=Gone, but Not Forgotten|author=John Derbyshire|date=5 July 2006|magazine=National Review Online|access-date=13 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216144111/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTE3OTdmZWQwZTExMTk5MzQ2NGUxNTQ5YTVlNmZkZjc=|archive-date=16 February 2007}}</ref> He has noted that small-government conservatism is unlikely to ever take hold in the United States (although he is personally sympathetic to it), called for immediate U.S. withdrawal from ] (but favoured the invasion), opposed market reforms or any other changes in ], supported legal access to abortion, supported ] in a fairly wide range of circumstances, and suggested that he might (in a time of international crisis) vote for ] as president.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Zjg5ZjVmZTc2Zjk4ZDkxYmM0ODNjMDg3MWYyY2FhNjE=|title=Just Got Back From The Windy City ...|author=John Derbyshire|magazine=National Review Online|date=24 June 2005|access-date=13 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120091501/http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Zjg5ZjVmZTc2Zjk4ZDkxYmM0ODNjMDg3MWYyY2FhNjE=|archive-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> Derbyshire wrote about American schooling in his book '']'', "Education is a vast sea of lies, waste, corruption, crackpot theorizing, and careerist log-rolling." He further argued that people "had better brace ourselves for the catastrophe" coming as a result.<ref name="cred">{{cite magazine|last=Derbyshire |first=John |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/271317/credentialed-society-john-derbyshire |title=The Credentialed Society |magazine=National Review |date=7 July 2011 |access-date=8 April 2012}}</ref> |access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref> derided Bush as too sure of his religious convictions and for his "rich-kid-ness".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTE3OTdmZWQwZTExMTk5MzQ2NGUxNTQ5YTVlNmZkZjc=|title=Gone, but Not Forgotten|author=John Derbyshire|date=5 July 2006|magazine=National Review Online|access-date=13 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216144111/http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTE3OTdmZWQwZTExMTk5MzQ2NGUxNTQ5YTVlNmZkZjc=|archive-date=16 February 2007}}</ref> He has noted that small-government conservatism is unlikely to ever take hold in the United States (although he is personally sympathetic to it), called for immediate U.S. withdrawal from ] (but favoured the invasion), opposed market reforms or any other changes in ], supported legal access to abortion, supported ] in a fairly wide range of circumstances, and suggested that he might (in a time of international crisis) vote for ] as president.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Zjg5ZjVmZTc2Zjk4ZDkxYmM0ODNjMDg3MWYyY2FhNjE=|title=Just Got Back From The Windy City ...|author=John Derbyshire|magazine=National Review Online|date=24 June 2005|access-date=13 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120091501/http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Zjg5ZjVmZTc2Zjk4ZDkxYmM0ODNjMDg3MWYyY2FhNjE=|archive-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> Derbyshire wrote about American schooling in his book '']'', "Education is a vast sea of lies, waste, corruption, crackpot theorizing, and careerist log-rolling." He further argued that people "had better brace ourselves for the catastrophe" coming as a result.<ref name="cred">{{cite magazine|last=Derbyshire |first=John |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/271317/credentialed-society-john-derbyshire |title=The Credentialed Society |magazine=National Review |date=7 July 2011 |access-date=8 April 2012}}</ref>


Derbyshire once argued that America would be better off if women did not have the right to vote.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shakir |first=Faiz |url=http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/09/30/62209/derbyshire-female-suffrage/ |title=National Review's John Derbyshire: Women Should Not Have The Right To Vote |website=ThinkProgress |date=30 September 2009 |access-date=8 April 2012}}</ref>{{cn|reason=Citation Needed as the existing citation is a dead link which does not seem to be in any archive, and male claims that women should not be allowed to vote, being absurd in most people's eyes, are often not meant to be taken seriously, and Derbyshire sometimes writes ironically but in a way that the irony is not necessarily easily noticed by the reader.|date=October 2021}} In 2005, in a monthly column containing a series of miscellaneous musings, he controversially stated that women's physical attractiveness peaks between ages 15 and 20.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://old.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200511300810.asp |title=Northeast Asia heating up? |magazine=National Review Online |date=30 November 2005 |access-date=8 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423125753/http://old.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200511300810.asp |archive-date=23 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2012/04/08/john-derbyshire-fired-over-racism-not-sexualization-of-15-year-old-girls/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911080749/http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2012/04/08/john-derbyshire-fired-over-racism-not-sexualization-of-15-year-old-girls/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=11 September 2015 |title=John Derbyshire fired over racism, but what about his sexualization of 15-year-old girls? |publisher=Hugo Schwyzer |date=8 April 2012}}</ref> Derbyshire once argued that America would be better off if women did not have the right to vote.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shakir |first=Faiz |date=September 30, 2009 |title=National Review's John Derbyshire: Women Should Not Have The Right To Vote |url=https://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/09/30/62209/derbyshire-female-suffrage/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727083557/https://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/09/30/62209/derbyshire-female-suffrage/ |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |access-date=2024-03-06 |publisher=ThinkProgress.org}}</ref> In 2005, in a monthly column containing a series of miscellaneous musings, he controversially stated that women's physical attractiveness peaks between the ages of 15 and 20.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://old.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200511300810.asp |title=Northeast Asia heating up? |magazine=National Review Online |date=30 November 2005 |access-date=8 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423125753/http://old.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshire200511300810.asp |archive-date=23 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2012/04/08/john-derbyshire-fired-over-racism-not-sexualization-of-15-year-old-girls/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911080749/http://www.hugoschwyzer.net/2012/04/08/john-derbyshire-fired-over-racism-not-sexualization-of-15-year-old-girls/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=11 September 2015 |title=John Derbyshire fired over racism, but what about his sexualization of 15-year-old girls? |publisher=Hugo Schwyzer |date=8 April 2012}}</ref>


Derbyshire was one of the inaugural speakers at the Mencken Club, a far-right club formed by ] and ], and has spoken at the group several additional times. The Mencken Club has been described by the ] as a white nationalist organization.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartzell |first1=Stephanie L. |title=Alt-White: Conceptualizing the "Alt-Right" as a Rhetorical Bridge between White Nationalism and Mainstream Public Discourse |journal=] |date=2018 |volume=8 |issue=1/2 |page=6-18 |url=http://contemporaryrhetoric.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Hartzell8_1_2_2.pdf |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Piggott |first1=Stephen |title=White Nationalists to Gather in Baltimore for the Ninth Annual H.L. Mencken Club Conference |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/11/04/white-nationalists-gather-baltimore-ninth-annual-hl-mencken-club-conference |access-date=April 5, 2023 |work=HateWatch |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |date=November 4, 2016 |language=en}}</ref> Derbyshire was one of the inaugural speakers at the ] Club, a far-right club formed by ] and ], and has spoken at the group several additional times. The H.L. Mencken Club has been described by the ] as a white nationalist organization.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartzell |first1=Stephanie L. |title=Alt-White: Conceptualizing the "Alt-Right" as a Rhetorical Bridge between White Nationalism and Mainstream Public Discourse |journal=Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric |date=2018 |volume=8 |issue=1/2 |pages=6–18 |url=http://contemporaryrhetoric.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Hartzell8_1_2_2.pdf |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Piggott |first1=Stephen |title=White Nationalists to Gather in Baltimore for the Ninth Annual H.L. Mencken Club Conference |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/11/04/white-nationalists-gather-baltimore-ninth-annual-hl-mencken-club-conference |access-date=April 5, 2023 |work=HateWatch |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |date=November 4, 2016 |language=en}}</ref>


=== Conflicts with ''National Review'' === === Conflicts with ''National Review'' ===
Derbyshire differed from other writers at ''National Review'' magazine on many subjects. For example, Derbyshire supported ]'s position in the ]. Derbyshire's views on the Schiavo case attracted criticism from colleagues such as ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/05_03_20_corner-archive.asp#059070|title=Contra Derbyshire|author=Ramesh Ponnuru|date=23 March 2005|work=National Review|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref> The Derbyshire–Ponnuru dispute arose again over Ponnuru's 2006 book '']''. Derbyshire reviewed the book harshly in the ''New English Review'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=3190&sec_id=3190|title=A Frigid and Pitiless Dogma|work=New English Review|date=June 2006|author=John Derbyshire|access-date=13 April 2007|archive-date=15 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415084409/http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=3190&sec_id=3190|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Ponnuru replied on ''National Review Online''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ponnuru|first=Ramesh|title=Unreason John Derbyshire vs. Pro-Lifers.|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/node/217857|work=National Review|access-date=13 May 2013|date=7 June 2006}}</ref> Derbyshire differed from other writers at ''National Review'' magazine on many subjects. For example, Derbyshire supported ]'s position in the ]. Derbyshire's views on the Schiavo case attracted criticism from colleagues such as ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/05_03_20_corner-archive.asp#059070|title=Contra Derbyshire|author=Ramesh Ponnuru|date=23 March 2005|work=National Review|access-date=13 April 2007}}</ref> The Derbyshire–Ponnuru dispute arose again over Ponnuru's 2006 book '']''. Derbyshire reviewed the book harshly in the ''New English Review'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=3190&sec_id=3190|title=A Frigid and Pitiless Dogma|work=New English Review|date=June 2006|author=John Derbyshire|access-date=13 April 2007|archive-date=15 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415084409/http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=3190&sec_id=3190|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Ponnuru replied on ''National Review Online''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ponnuru|first=Ramesh|title=Unreason John Derbyshire vs. Pro-Lifers.|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/node/217857|work=National Review|access-date=13 May 2013|date=7 June 2006}}</ref>


Though Derbyshire broadly agreed with other writers at ''National Review Online'' on immigration, he encountered strong opposition from former NRO blogger ], who described Derbyshire's comments on restricting immigration to maintain "ethnic balance" in severe terms: "But maintaining 'ethnic balance' is not fine. It is chillingly, horrifyingly not fine."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWI0YTJlODM4Y2EzNzRiYjNkNGZiZjdkYmFlMTJhMDk=|title=Ethnic Balance?|author=John Podhoretz|date=12 May 2006|work=National Review|access-date=13 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120091421/http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWI0YTJlODM4Y2EzNzRiYjNkNGZiZjdkYmFlMTJhMDk=|archive-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> Though Derbyshire broadly agreed with other writers at ''National Review Online'' on immigration, he encountered strong opposition from former ''National Review Online'' blogger ], who described Derbyshire's comments on restricting immigration to maintain "ethnic balance" in severe terms: "But maintaining 'ethnic balance' is not fine. It is chillingly, horrifyingly not fine."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWI0YTJlODM4Y2EzNzRiYjNkNGZiZjdkYmFlMTJhMDk=|title=Ethnic Balance?|author=John Podhoretz|date=12 May 2006|work=National Review|access-date=13 April 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120091421/http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWI0YTJlODM4Y2EzNzRiYjNkNGZiZjdkYmFlMTJhMDk=|archive-date=20 January 2008}}</ref>


==Personal life== ==Personal life==
Derbyshire's wife is named Lynette Rose Derbyshire. They married in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnderbyshire.com/FamilyAlbum/page.html|publisher=Johnderbyshire.com|title=Family Album|access-date=8 April 2012}}</ref> They have two children, a daughter and a son. He has lived in ] since 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnderbyshire.com|publisher=John Derbyshire|title=John Derbyshire|access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> In early 2012, he underwent treatment for ].<ref name=butler>{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5900452/i-may-give-up-writing-and-work-as-a-butler-interview-with-john-derbyshire%5C |title='I May Give Up Writing and Work as a Butler': Interview with John Derbyshire |first=Maureen |last=O'Connor |date=9 April 2012 |work=] |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410222030/http://gawker.com/5900452/i-may-give-up-writing-and-work-as-a-butler-interview-with-john-derbyshire |archive-date=10 April 2012 }}</ref> Derbyshire's has been married to Lynette Rose Derbyshire, a Chinese immigrant, since 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnderbyshire.com/FamilyAlbum/page.html|publisher=Johnderbyshire.com|title=Family Album|access-date=8 April 2012}}</ref> The couple were married in the city of Jilin, in Jilin Province, northeast China, and have a daughter and a son. He has lived in ] since 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnderbyshire.com|publisher=John Derbyshire|title=John Derbyshire|access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> In early 2012, he underwent treatment for ].<ref name=butler>{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5900452/i-may-give-up-writing-and-work-as-a-butler-interview-with-john-derbyshire%5C |title='I May Give Up Writing and Work as a Butler': Interview with John Derbyshire |first=Maureen |last=O'Connor |date=9 April 2012 |work=] |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410222030/http://gawker.com/5900452/i-may-give-up-writing-and-work-as-a-butler-interview-with-john-derbyshire |archive-date=10 April 2012 }}</ref>


==Published works== ==Published works==
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Latest revision as of 08:01, 7 December 2024

American paleoconservative 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, until he was fired in 2012 for writing an article for Taki's Magazine that was widely viewed as racist. Since 2012 he has written for white nationalist website VDARE.

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. 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."

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

Early life

Derbyshire attended the Northampton School for Boys and graduated from University College London, of the University of London, where he studied mathematics. Before turning to writing full-time, he worked on Wall Street as a computer programmer.

Career

National Review

Derbyshire worked as a writer at National Review until he was terminated in 2012 because of an article published in Taki's Magazine that was widely perceived as racist.

Derbyshire began writing for the far-right website VDARE in May 2012. In his first column for the website, Derbyshire wrote "White supremacy, in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with."

Mathematics

Derbyshire's book Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics was first published in hardcover in 2003 and then paperback in 2004. It focuses on the Riemann hypothesis, one of the Millennium Problems. The book is aimed, as Derbyshire puts it in his prologue, "at the intelligent and curious but nonmathematical reader ..."

Prime Obsession explores such topics as complex numbers, field theory, the prime number theorem, the zeta function, the harmonic series, and others. The biographical sections give relevant information about the lives of mathematicians who worked in these areas, including Euler, Gauss, Lejeune Dirichlet, Lobachevsky, Chebyshev, Vallée-Poussin, Hadamard, as well as Riemann himself.

In 2006, Joseph Henry Press published another Derbyshire book of popular mathematics: Unknown Quantity: A Real And Imaginary History of Algebra.

Role in Way of the Dragon

Derbyshire had an uncredited role in Way of the Dragon (released in the United States as Return of the Dragon), a 1972 martial arts film directed by and starring, actor and martial artist Bruce Lee. Of landing the part, Derbyshire said: "The casting director had obviously just trawled around the low-class guesthouses for unemployed foreigners of a sufficiently thuggish appearance."

Views

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Derbyshire writes in general from a small government conservative perspective. He notably ridiculed George W. Bush's "itty-bitty tax cut, paid for by dumping a slew of federal debt on your children and grandchildren," derided Bush as too sure of his religious convictions and for his "rich-kid-ness". He has noted that small-government conservatism is unlikely to ever take hold in the United States (although he is personally sympathetic to it), called for immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq (but favoured the invasion), opposed market reforms or any other changes in Social Security, supported legal access to abortion, supported euthanasia in a fairly wide range of circumstances, and suggested that he might (in a time of international crisis) vote for Hillary Clinton as president. Derbyshire wrote about American schooling in his book We Are Doomed, "Education is a vast sea of lies, waste, corruption, crackpot theorizing, and careerist log-rolling." He further argued that people "had better brace ourselves for the catastrophe" coming as a result.

Derbyshire once argued that America would be better off if women did not have the right to vote. In 2005, in a monthly column containing a series of miscellaneous musings, he controversially stated that women's physical attractiveness peaks between the ages of 15 and 20.

Derbyshire was one of the inaugural speakers at the H.L. Mencken Club, a far-right club formed by Paul Gottfried and Richard B. Spencer, and has spoken at the group several additional times. The H.L. Mencken Club has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist organization.

Conflicts with National Review

Derbyshire differed from other writers at National Review magazine on many subjects. For example, Derbyshire supported Michael Schiavo's position in the Terri Schiavo case. Derbyshire's views on the Schiavo case attracted criticism from colleagues such as Ramesh Ponnuru. The Derbyshire–Ponnuru dispute arose again over Ponnuru's 2006 book The Party of Death. Derbyshire reviewed the book harshly in the New English Review, and Ponnuru replied on National Review Online.

Though Derbyshire broadly agreed with other writers at National Review Online on immigration, he encountered strong opposition from former National Review Online blogger John Podhoretz, who described Derbyshire's comments on restricting immigration to maintain "ethnic balance" in severe terms: "But maintaining 'ethnic balance' is not fine. It is chillingly, horrifyingly not fine."

Personal life

Derbyshire's has been married to Lynette Rose Derbyshire, a Chinese immigrant, since 1986. The couple were married in the city of Jilin, in Jilin Province, northeast China, and have a daughter and a son. He has lived in Long Island, New York since 1992. In early 2012, he underwent treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Published works

He has also written numerous articles for various publications, including National Review, The New Criterion, The American Conservative and The Washington Times.

Derbyshire records a weekly podcast called "Radio Derb," in which he comments on current events. The podcast was hosted on the National Review website before being moved to Taki's Magazine. It is now hosted on VDARE.

References

  1. "Re: Paleocons On Immigration". National Review. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ Matthews, Dylan (6 May 2016). "Paleoconservatism, the movement that explains Donald Trump, explained". Vox. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. ^ Byers, Dylan (7 April 2012). "National Review fires John Derbyshire". POLITICO. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ "VDARE". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 5 April 2023. White supremacy, in the sense of a society in which key decisions are made by white Europeans, is one of the better arrangements History has come up with. There have of course been some blots on the record, but I don't see how it can be denied that net-net, white Europeans have made a better job of running fair and stable societies than has any other group.
  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.
  10. Lowry, Rich (7 April 2012). "Parting Ways". National Review Online. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  11. Davidson Sorkin, Amy (9 April 2012). "Why the National Review Fired John Derbyshire". The New Yorker. New York City. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  12. S. W. Graham. "Read This: Prime Obsession". The Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  13. "Twelve questions for John Derbyshire". The Economist. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  14. John Derbyshire (15 October 2003). "Thug (Uncredited)". National Review. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  15. John Derbyshire (10 May 2005). "Twilight of Conservatism". National Review Online. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  16. John Derbyshire (5 July 2006). "Gone, but Not Forgotten". National Review Online. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  17. John Derbyshire (24 June 2005). "Just Got Back From The Windy City ..." National Review Online. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  18. Derbyshire, John (7 July 2011). "The Credentialed Society". National Review. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  19. Shakir, Faiz (30 September 2009). "National Review's John Derbyshire: Women Should Not Have The Right To Vote". ThinkProgress.org. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  20. "Northeast Asia heating up?". National Review Online. 30 November 2005. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  21. "John Derbyshire fired over racism, but what about his sexualization of 15-year-old girls?". Hugo Schwyzer. 8 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. Hartzell, Stephanie L. (2018). "Alt-White: Conceptualizing the "Alt-Right" as a Rhetorical Bridge between White Nationalism and Mainstream Public Discourse" (PDF). Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric. 8 (1/2): 6–18. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  23. Piggott, Stephen (4 November 2016). "White Nationalists to Gather in Baltimore for the Ninth Annual H.L. Mencken Club Conference". HateWatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  24. Ramesh Ponnuru (23 March 2005). "Contra Derbyshire". National Review. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  25. John Derbyshire (June 2006). "A Frigid and Pitiless Dogma". New English Review. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  26. Ponnuru, Ramesh (7 June 2006). "Unreason John Derbyshire vs. Pro-Lifers". National Review. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  27. John Podhoretz (12 May 2006). "Ethnic Balance?". National Review. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  28. "Family Album". Johnderbyshire.com. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  29. "John Derbyshire". John Derbyshire. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  30. O'Connor, Maureen (9 April 2012). "'I May Give Up Writing and Work as a Butler': Interview with John Derbyshire". Gawker. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.

External links

Interviews

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