David Rakoff

Canadian-American humorist and essayist (1964–2012)
Person human Q5238883
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David Rakoff

Summary

David Rakoff is a human[1]. His place of birth was Montreal[2]. He was born on November 27, 1964[3]. He died in Manhattan[4]. He died on August 9, 2012[5]. He worked as an essayist[6], journalist[7], comedian[8], writer[9], and radio personality[10]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (460 views/month, #7,216 of 1,000,298).[11]

Key Facts

  • David Rakoff's place of birth was Montreal[2].
  • David Rakoff passed away in Manhattan[4].
  • David Rakoff was born on November 27, 1964[3].
  • David Rakoff died on August 9, 2012[5].
  • David Rakoff's father was Vivian M. Rakoff[12].
  • David Rakoff held citizenship in Canada[13].
  • David Rakoff worked as an essayist[6].
  • David Rakoff's professions included journalist[7].
  • David Rakoff's professions included comedian[8].
  • David Rakoff's professions included writer[9].
  • David Rakoff worked as a radio personality[10].
  • David Rakoff's education included a stint at Columbia University[14].
  • David Rakoff's education included a stint at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute[15].
  • David Rakoff received the Lambda Literary Award[16].
  • David Rakoff is recorded as male[17].
  • David Rakoff's instance of is recorded as human[18].
  • David Rakoff's Commons category is recorded as David Rakoff[19].
  • David Rakoff's archives at is recorded as Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library[20].
  • The cause of death was cancer[21].
  • David Rakoff's family name is recorded as Q37053208[22].
  • David Rakoff's given name is recorded as David[23].
  • David Rakoff's manner of death is recorded as natural causes[24].
  • David Rakoff's languages spoken, written or signed is recorded as English[25].
  • David Rakoff's sibling is recorded as Simon Rakoff[26].
  • David Rakoff's P14750 is recorded as 6E91-2C9C-71C0-B458-B367[27].

Body

Origins and Family

David Rakoff was born in Montreal[2]. He was born on November 27, 1964[3]. His father was Vivian M. Rakoff[12].

Education

Educated at Columbia University[14], a private university[28], in United States[29], founded in 1754[30], headquartered in Manhattan[31] and Forest Hill Collegiate Institute[15], a high school[32], in Canada[33], founded in 1946[34].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include essayist[6], journalist[7], comedian[8], writer[9], and radio personality[10].

Recognition

David Rakoff received the Lambda Literary Award[16].

Death and Burial

David Rakoff died on August 9, 2012[5]. He died in Manhattan[4]. The cause of death was cancer[21].

Why It Matters

David Rakoff ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (460 views/month, #7,216 of 1,000,298).[11] He has Wikipedia articles in 5 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[35] He is known by 4 alternative names across languages and contexts.[36]

FAQs

Where was David Rakoff born?

David Rakoff was born in Montreal[2].

Where did David Rakoff die?

David Rakoff passed away in Manhattan[4].

Who were David Rakoff's parents?

David Rakoff's father was Vivian M. Rakoff[12].

What did David Rakoff do for work?

David Rakoff worked as essayist[6], journalist[7], comedian[8], writer[9], and radio personality[10].

Where did David Rakoff go to school?

David Rakoff was educated at Columbia University[14] and Forest Hill Collegiate Institute[15].

What awards did David Rakoff receive?

Honors received include Lambda Literary Award[16].

References

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

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca. discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  5. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [10] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [20] ↑ . hdl.handle.net. hdl.handle.net. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  17. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [3] ↑ . IMDb. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [5] ↑ . IMDb. Retrieved . third-beat.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] ↑ . discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca. discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  25. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [32] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [33] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [34] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [11] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [35] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [36] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). David Rakoff. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/david-rakoff
MLA “David Rakoff.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/david-rakoff.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_david-rakoff_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{David Rakoff}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/david-rakoff}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): David Rakoff — https://4ort.xyz/entity/david-rakoff (retrieved 2026-10-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 3h ago · HedgeHog · 2026-10-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Bookbrainz author id → 2989f434-26f9-4904-a0a4-78182f635374
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P2607]]: 2989f434-26f9-4904-a0a4-78182f635374, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1791629849434"
  2. 4d ago · Printstream · 2026-10-06 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Place of death → Manhattan
    Wikipedia languages → ['arz', 'azb', 'commons', 'de', 'en', 'es', 'fa', 'sv']
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/57880|batch #57880]]: Import more precise places of birth, date from dewiki"
  3. 14d ago · StorchPDF · 2026-09-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Port person id → 539960
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P2435]]: 539960, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/275236|batch #275236]]"
  4. 8w ago · Yirba · 2026-08-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Given name → David
    Sex or gender → male
    Family name → Q37053208
    Place of death → Manhattan
    + 19 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/46380|batch #46380]]: HAND ID (3)"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.