J. Christopher Herold (1919-1964) was born in Czechoslovakia to Austrian parents. The family moved to Germany in 1939, and shortly afterwards Herold emigrated to the United States.
Herold, who was fluent in 6 languages, received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Columbia University and 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.
He 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).