Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Recluse J.D. Salinger Found Using NYPL's 1940 Census Tool
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 2, 2012
Modified Apr 2, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 2, 2012
Modified Apr 2, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Today the 1940 census was released, opening up the personal details of 132 million people for the first time after 72 years of privacy protection lapses—21 million of those people are still alive. There are a number of ways to access the information in the census, including at the National Archives and this website, and the New York Public Library has also released a search tool.
Kate Stober at the NYPL tells us it's "more than just a research tool, we’ll be helping New Yorkers create a social history map of buildings and neighborhoods in the five boroughs. When you find an address, the tool pins it to both a 1940 map and a contemporary map, so you can see how the area has changed. You’re then invited to leave a note attached to the pin—memories, info about who lived there, what the neighborhood was like, questions... As people use the site, we’ll build a cultural map of New York in 1940 that will assist both professional historians and laypeople alike." And that's pretty amazing.
You can search through it here. We gave it a spin attempting to find Al Pacino and Woody Allen's families, but didn't have any luck (yet)... but lo and behold, America's number one recluse was right there in a plain site. Here's J.D. Salinger's personal deets from the year (13 years prior to living in seclusion in New Hampshire):
Someone also found Stanley Kubrick's father's listing, noting, "Jack Kubrick is the father of the famous director Stanley Kubrick. In 1940, Stanley will turn 12 in the Bronx a couple of years before his father, a doctor, bought him his first camera."
Tagged
1940 census
census
jd salinger
new york public library
nypl
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Ever wish you could get paid to walk through a stranger’s house? ‘The Scout’ is for you.
A new film focuses on the strange career of a location scout in New York City.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Sep 26, 2026
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A massive MTA archive ended up in a Virginia warehouse. A Brooklyn man brought it home.
By
Hannah Frishberg
How a Harry Styles pop-up in the East Village led to a nearby bookstore owner's arrest
By
Sonia Rao
NYC’s creative workers are increasingly self-employed, report says
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .