Noam Chomsky

American linguist and activist (born 1928)
Person human Q9049
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Noam Chomsky was born on December 7, 1928 in East Oak Lane[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] to William Chomsky[14]. He attended Oak Lane Day School, Central High School, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky worked as a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1955 to 2002 and has remained a professor since 1955.

His occupations include philosopher, linguist, political writer, university teacher, psychologist, and anthropologist[10][14]. His fields of expertise are linguistics, philosophy of language, psychology, and generative grammar. He identifies as agnostic[15].

Chomsky married Carol Chomsky from 1949 to 2008 and has been married to Valeria Wasserman Chomsky since 2014[16]. He is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences[17][18].

He has received numerous awards including the Orwell Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Helmholtz Medal, Thomas Merton Award, Sretenje Order, James Joyce Awards, and two additional awards[19][20][21][22].

Noam Chomsky

Summary

Noam Chomsky is a human[1]. Born in East Oak Lane[2], he… he worked as a philosopher[3], linguist[4], political writer[5], university teacher[6], and psychologist[7]. He ranks in the top 0.29% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (16,995 views/month, #2,951 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Noam Chomsky's place of birth was East Oak Lane[2].
  • Noam Chomsky's place of birth was Philadelphia[9].
  • Noam Chomsky's father was William Chomsky[10].
  • Noam Chomsky was married to Valeria Wasserman Chomsky[11].
  • A child of Noam Chomsky was Aviva Chomsky[12].
  • Noam Chomsky held citizenship in United States[13].
  • American English was Noam Chomsky's native language[14].
  • English was Noam Chomsky's native language[15].
  • Noam Chomsky worked as a philosopher[3].
  • Noam Chomsky's professions included linguist[4].
  • Noam Chomsky's professions included political writer[5].
  • Noam Chomsky worked as a university teacher[6].
  • Noam Chomsky's professions included psychologist[7].
  • Noam Chomsky's professions included anthropologist[16].
  • Noam Chomsky's field of work was linguistics[17].
  • Noam Chomsky's field of work was philosophy of language[18].
  • Noam Chomsky's field of work was psychology[19].
  • Noam Chomsky's field of work was generative grammar[20].
  • Noam Chomsky's field of work was communication theory[21].
  • Noam Chomsky's field of work was cognitive science[22].
  • Noam Chomsky held the position of professor[23].
  • Noam Chomsky's education included a stint at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[24].
  • Noam Chomsky's education included a stint at Oak Lane Day School[25].
  • Noam Chomsky received the Orwell Award[26].
  • Noam Chomsky received the Guggenheim Fellowship[27].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • Type: Person[28]

  • Country: US[29]

  • Began / founded: 1928-12-07[30]

  • Community tags: has german audiobooks[31]

  • MusicBrainz ID: 7d83b9be-b7a4-40f3-b682-a83934a0e8ab[32]

Body

Origins and Family

Recorded place of birth include East Oak Lane[2], a neighborhood[33], in United States[34] and Philadelphia[9], a city of Pennsylvania[35], in United States[36], founded in 1682[37]. Noam Chomsky's father was William Chomsky[10]. Native languages include American English[14] and English[15].

Education

Educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[24], a university[38], in United States[39], founded in 1861[40], headquartered in Cambridge[41] and Oak Lane Day School[25], a school[42], in United States[43], founded in 1916[44].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include philosopher[3], linguist[4], political writer[5], university teacher[6], psychologist[7], and anthropologist[16]. Fields of work include linguistics[17], an academic discipline[45]; philosophy of language[18], a branch of philosophy[46]; psychology[19], an academic discipline[47]; generative grammar[20]; communication theory[21], an academic discipline[48]; and cognitive science[22], a field of study[49]. Noam Chomsky held the position of professor[23].

Recognition

Awards received include Orwell Award[26], a literary award[50], in United States[51], founded in 1975[52]; Guggenheim Fellowship[27], a fellowship grant[53], in United States[54], founded in 1925[55]; Helmholtz Medal[56], a science award[57], in German Empire[58]; Thomas Merton Award[59], an award[60], in United States[61], founded in 1972[62]; Sretenje Order[63]; and James Joyce Awards[64].

Personal Life

Noam Chomsky was married to Valeria Wasserman Chomsky[11]. A child of him was Aviva Chomsky[12]. His religion is recorded as agnosticism[65].

Works and Contributions

Things named for Noam Chomsky include Chomsky hierarchy[66], Nim Chimpsky[67], generative grammar[68], and Chomsky normal form[69].

Why It Matters

Noam Chomsky ranks in the top 0.29% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (16,995 views/month, #2,951 of 1,000,298).[8] He has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[70] He is known by 33 alternative names across languages and contexts.[71]

He has been cited as an influence by Kyle Kulinski[72], a journalist[73], b. 1988[74], of United States[75]; Steven Pinker[76], a psychologist[77], b. 1954[78], of United States[79], awarded the APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology[80], specialised in experimental psychology[81]; Stephen Jay Gould[82], an evolutionary biologist[83], 1941–2002[84], of United States[85], awarded the National Book Award[86], specialised in paleontology[87]; Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens[88], a politician[89], b. 1938[90], of United Kingdom[91], awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences[92], specialised in sociology[93]; Étienne Chouard[94], a blogger[95], b. 1956[96], of France[97]; and Todd May[98], a philosopher[99], b. 1955[100], of United States[101], specialised in political philosophy[102].

He is credited with the discovery of Chomsky hierarchy[103], X-bar theory[104], minimalist program[105], language acquisition device[106], phrase structure rule[107], and government and binding theory[108]. Works attributed to him include Manufacturing Consent[109], Colorless green ideas sleep furiously[110], Syntactic Structures[111], Requiem for the American Dream[112], The Responsibility of Intellectuals[113], and Aspects of the Theory of Syntax[114]. Entities named for him include Chomsky hierarchy[66], Nim Chimpsky[67], generative grammar[68], and Chomsky normal form[69].

His notable doctoral advisees include Ray Jackendoff[115], John R. Ross[116], Tanya Reinhart[117], James D. McCawley[118], Barbara Partee[119], and Mark Baker[120].

FAQs

Where was Noam Chomsky born?

Noam Chomsky was born in East Oak Lane[2].

Who were Noam Chomsky's parents?

Noam Chomsky's father was William Chomsky[10].

Who was Noam Chomsky married to?

Noam Chomsky's spouses include Valeria Wasserman Chomsky[11].

What did Noam Chomsky do for work?

Noam Chomsky worked as philosopher[3], linguist[4], political writer[5], university teacher[6], and psychologist[7].

Where did Noam Chomsky go to school?

Noam Chomsky was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[24] and Oak Lane Day School[25].

What awards did Noam Chomsky receive?

Honors received include Orwell Award[26], Guggenheim Fellowship[27], Helmholtz Medal[56], and Thomas Merton Award[59].

Who did Noam Chomsky influence?

Noam Chomsky has been cited as an influence by Kyle Kulinski[72], Steven Pinker[76], Stephen Jay Gould[82], and Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens[88].

What did Noam Chomsky discover?

Noam Chomsky is credited as discoverer of Chomsky hierarchy[103], X-bar theory[104], minimalist program[105], and language acquisition device[106].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [9] . Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  3. [10] . Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
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Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [28] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  2. [29] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  3. [30] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  4. [31] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  5. [32] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

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Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [70] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [71] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Noam Chomsky. Retrieved March 9, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/noam-chomsky
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  1. 17d ago · ZI Jony · 2026-05-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14437 noam-chomsky
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P14437]]: noam-chomsky"
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