![Stephan Thernstrom, Leading Critic of Affirmative Action, Dies at 90 Stephan Thernstrom, Leading Critic of Affirmative Action, Dies at 90](https://i2.wp.com/static01.nyt.com/images/2025/01/28/multimedia/28Thernsstrom--01-gvqk/28Thernsstrom--01-gvqk-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=600&resize=600,400&ssl=1)
Stephan Thernstrom, Leading Critic of Affirmative Action, Dies at 90
Stephan Thernstrom, a Harvard history professor and author who, with his wife, the political scientist Abigail Thernstrom, vaulted to national prominence during the 1990s as a leading critic of affirmative action, died on Thursday in Arlington, Va. He was 90. His daughter, the author Melanie Thernstrom, said his death, at a care facility, was from…