Raymond Aron (1905-1983) excelled as an academic scholar, teacher, and journalist. He applied the methods of sociology to the study of economics, international relations, ideology, and war.

Raymond Aron was born in Paris, France, on March 14, 1905, the year that brought the separation of church and state in that country. His father, Gustave, was a professor of law who had married Suzanne Levy. After the world depression struck France, Raymond married Suzanne Gauchon on September 5, 1933. Their union produced two girls, Dominique (Mrs. Antoine Schnapper) and Laurence.

Aron had already graduated from the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure, the intellectual center of some of France's greatest thinkers, and in 1928, when only 23 years old, he won his agrégation in philosophy. Over the next 10 years he expanded into sociology and economics and received a State Doctorat in 1933. He had already started his career with a lectureship at the University...