Pelikan, Jaroslav

Pelikan, Jaroslav (Jan, Jr.)

(1923– ) historian of religion; born in Akron, Ohio. Descended from Eastern European ministers, he was extremely precocious. He started to write at age two, entered high school at age nine, and earned his Ph.D. at 22. He taught at Yale University (1962). He wrote 22 books, including the monumental five-volume Christian Tradition (1971, 1974, 1978, 1984, 1989). His Riddle of Roman Catholicism (1959) sold many copies during the presidential campaign of John Kennedy in 1960. He called for dialogue between Christianity and Judaism.