Hamilton and Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow, a masterful storyteller of American history, brings our nation’s past vividly to life through his award-winning biographies of extraordinary figures. His debut, The House of Morgan, received the National Book Award, while Washington: A Life earned the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. His celebrated Alexander Hamilton won the George Washington Book Prize. A two-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, Chernow is one of only three living biographers to be honored with the Gold Medal for Biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A former president of PEN America, he has also been awarded nine honorary doctorates. His most recent biography of Mark Twain was published in May and debuted as number one on The New York Times bestseller list. The Times of London hailed the book as “a model biography, one of the finest of recent years.”

Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. In addition to its 11 Tony Awards, it has won Grammy and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors. Hamilton features a book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. Hamilton’s portion of the Liberty Medal prize benefited Gilder Lehrman’s Hamilton Education Program.