J. Christopher Herold (1919-December 10, 1964) was born in Czechoslova­kia of Austrian parents. The family moved to Germany in 1939, and shortly afterwards Herold emigrated to the United States. Herold received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Columbia University. Fluent in 6 languages, he served with Army intelligence in World War II. After the war, he became assistant editor at Columbia University Press, and later editor-in-chief at the Stanford University Press. Herold wrote a number of books on European history, such as “The Swiss Without Halos” (1948), “Joan, Maid of France” (1952), “The Mind of Napoleon” (1955), and “Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël” (1958). Herald died in New York at the age of 45.