Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1928
- Works
- 19
Top works
- An evening wasted with Tom Lehrer
- Poisoning Pigeons in the Park
- Song Book
- Remains of - features all Tom Lehrer's irreverant political satire (R279831)
- If He Could Only See Us
via Open Library + Wikidata
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1928-04-09
- Active to
- 2025-07-26
Discography
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 289,893
- Total plays
- 5,435,447
Tags
Tom Lehrer (born Thomas Andrew Lehrer in Manhattan, New York City, on 9 April 1928; died 26 July 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician remembered for his pithy and humorous, often political, songs that were immensely popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Lehrer was referred to as the "King of Satire" by fans. Beyond musical fame, he lectured on mathematics and musical theatre. Before attending college, Lehrer graduated from the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor,
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python
· 2020 · cited 34,742x
- Particle mesh Ewald: An <i>N</i>⋅log(<i>N</i>) method for Ewald sums in large systems
· 1993 · cited 29,247x
- A Global Measure of Perceived Stress
· 1983 · cited 25,283x
- The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)
· 2016 · cited 22,933x
- A New Equation to Estimate Glomerular Filtration Rate
· 2009 · cited 22,300x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
- “Andrew Wiles gently smiles, Does his thing, and voila! Q.E.D., we agree, And we all shout hurrah! As he confirms what Fermat Jotted down in that margin, Which could've used some enlargin'.”
- “No one is more dangerous than someone who thinks he has "The Truth". To be an atheist is almost as arrogant as to be a fundamentalist. But then again, I can get pretty arrogant.”
- “I find enough mystery in mathematics to satisfy my spiritual needs. I think, for example, that pi is mysterious enough (don't get me started!) without having to worry about God. Or if pi isn't enough, how about fractals? or quantum mechanics?”
- “I would like to state at this time that I am not now and have never been... a member of the Boy Scouts of America. Their motto is, as you know, "Be Prepared!" and that is the name of this song.”
- “Don't solicit for your sister, that's not nice, Unless you get a good percentage of her price.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Born
- Thomas Andrew Lehrer , ( 1928-04-09 ) April 9, 1928, New York City, U.S.
- Died
- July 26, 2025 (2025-07-26) (aged 97), Cambridge, Massachusetts , U.S.
- Education
- Harvard University ( AB , MA )
- Occupations
- Singer-songwriter satirist mathematician lecturer
- Genres
- Novelty satire comedy educational
- Instruments
- Vocals piano
- Years active
- 1945–1973 1980 1998
- Labels
- TransRadio Lehrer Reprise / Warner Bros. Rhino / Atlantic Shout! Factory Needlejuice Records
- Website
- tomlehrersongs .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Described at
Scientists mourn Tom Lehrer — nerdiest of singer-songwriters
The mathematician’s memorable satires are beloved by generations of researchers., The mathematician’s memorable satires are beloved by generations of researchers. The mathematician’s memorable satires are beloved by generations of researchers.
nature.com →Link to a page describing this subject · 12,667 chars · not written by Vinony
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Portrait of Tom Lehrer in c. 1957.jpg
Show 10 more facts
- date of birth
- 1928-04-09
- Commons category
- Tom Lehrer
- Erdős number
- 4
- start of work period
- 1945-00-00
- Commons Creator page
- Tom Lehrer
- social media followers
- 24000
- name in native language
- Tom Lehrer
- date of death
- 2025-07-26
- end of work period
- 1998-00-00
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
3 objects attributed to Tom Lehrer, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~32 min read
Article
Thomas Andrew Lehrer (/ˈlɛərər/ ; April 9, 1928 – July 26, 2025) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy, humorous, and often political songs that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs parodied popular musical forms, often with original melodies.
Lehrer's early performances dealt with non-topical subjects and dark humor in songs such as "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". In the 1960s, he produced songs about timely social and political issues, particularly for the U.S. version of the television show That Was the Week That Was. Lehrer quoted a friend's explanation: "Always predict the worst and you'll be hailed as a prophet." In the early 1970s, Lehrer largely retired from public performance to devote his time to teaching mathematics and musical theater history at the University of California, Santa Cruz.