Nicholas Schaffner was an American non-fiction author, journalist, and singer-songwriter. Schaffner was born in Manhattan to John Schaffner, a literary agent, and the former Frances Perdita Aldington. He was the grandson of Imagist poet Hilda Doolittle, better known as H.D. He attended the Choate School and the New College of Florida, graduating from both schools. Schaffner had been collecting Beatles memorabilia through much of the 1960s, which directly led to his first book, The Beatles Forever, published in 1977. With its critical acceptance, he was established as a Beatles expert. Subsequently he appeared as a commentator in a 1982 documentary about the group called The Compleat Beatles. The Beatles Forever continues to be held in high regard by writers and commentators. While discussing the most recent generation of Beatles biographies in December 2013, Chicago Tribune contributor Mark Caro recalled its publication and described it as "the superior critical-minded history" on the band. Ian Inglis, author of a 2010 biography on George Harrison, wrote of Schaffner's contribution: "Among the very best of the hundreds of books that examine the history of the Beatles. 

January 28th, 1953 in Manhattan  /  Died:   Aug 28th, 1991