Leonard Cohen

Canadian singer, songwriter and poet (1934–2016)
Person human Q1276
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Leonard Cohen was born on September 21, 1934 in Montreal[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and died on November 7, 2016 in Los Angeles[17][1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][13][14][18]. He held Canadian citizenship[5] and practiced Judaism[19]. Cohen was married to Suzanne Elrod[20] and had two children: Adam Cohen and Lorca Cohen[5][20].

Cohen worked as a singer-songwriter, poet, street artist, novelist, writer, and musician[21][22][23][5][24][13], operating primarily in the fields of music and poetry[25]. His musical output encompassed rock music, spoken word, folk rock, sophisti-pop, world music, and soft rock[26][27][5][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. He was influenced by Federico García Lorca[5].

His education included McGill University, Columbia University, Westmount High School, and Camp B'nai Brith. Cohen received numerous honors including the Companion of the Order of Canada, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Glenn Gould Prize, Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and Governor General's Performing Arts Award plus two additional awards[39][5][40][41][42]. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[5].

Cohen's death was caused by falling and he was buried at Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery[43][5].

Leonard Cohen

Summary

Leonard Cohen is a human[1]. Born in Montreal[2], he… he died in Los Angeles[3]. He worked as a singer-songwriter[4], poet[5], street artist[6], novelist[7], and writer[8]. He ranks in the top 0.28% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (14,492 views/month, #2,807 of 1,000,298).[9]

Key Facts

  • Leonard Cohen was born in Montreal[2].
  • Leonard Cohen passed away in Los Angeles[3].
  • Burial took place at Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery[10].
  • Leonard Cohen's father was Nathan Bernard Cohen[11].
  • Leonard Cohen's mother was Marsha Klonitsky[12].
  • Among Leonard Cohen's spouses was Suzanne Elrod[13].
  • A child of Leonard Cohen was Adam Cohen[14].
  • A child of Leonard Cohen was Lorca Cohen[15].
  • Leonard Cohen held citizenship in Canada[16].
  • Leonard Cohen worked as a singer-songwriter[4].
  • Leonard Cohen worked as a poet[5].
  • Leonard Cohen's professions included street artist[6].
  • Leonard Cohen worked as a novelist[7].
  • Leonard Cohen worked as a writer[8].
  • Leonard Cohen's professions included musician[17].
  • Leonard Cohen's field of work was music[18].
  • Leonard Cohen's field of work was poetry[19].
  • Leonard Cohen was educated at McGill University[20].
  • Leonard Cohen was educated at Columbia University[21].
  • Leonard Cohen was educated at Westmount High School[22].
  • Leonard Cohen was educated at Camp B'nai Brith[23].
  • Leonard Cohen's education included a stint at Pripstein's Camp Mishmar[24].
  • Leonard Cohen was educated at Roslyn Elementary School[25].
  • Leonard Cohen received the Companion of the Order of Canada[26].
  • Leonard Cohen received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[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: CA[29]

  • Began / founded: 1934-09-21[30]

  • Ended / dissolved: 2016-11-07[31]

  • Genre(s): blues rock, contemporary folk, folk, folk rock, poetry, pop, rock, singer-songwriter[32]

  • Community tags: blues rock, composers, contemporary folk, fiction, folk, folk rock, lyricists, music, novelists, poetry, poets, pop, rock, singer-songwriter, singer/songwriter, singers[33]

  • MusicBrainz ID: 65314b12-0e08-43fa-ba33-baaa7b874c15[34]

Body

Origins and Family

Leonard Cohen's place of birth was Montreal[2]. His father was Nathan Bernard Cohen[11]. His mother was Marsha Klonitsky[12].

Education

Educated at McGill University[20], a public research university[35], in Canada[36], founded in 1821[37], headquartered in Montreal[38]; Columbia University[21], a private university[39], in United States[40], founded in 1754[41], headquartered in Manhattan[42]; Westmount High School[22], a high school[43], in Canada[44], founded in 1874[45]; Camp B'nai Brith[23], a school[46], in Canada[47]; Pripstein's Camp Mishmar[24], a school[48], in Canada[49]; and Roslyn Elementary School[25], a primary school[50], in Canada[51], founded in 1908[52].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include singer-songwriter[4], poet[5], street artist[6], novelist[7], writer[8], and musician[17]. Fields of work include music[18], a type of arts[53] and poetry[19], a literary form[54].

Recognition

Awards received include Companion of the Order of Canada[26], a grade of an order[55], in Canada[56], founded in 1967[57]; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[27], a lifetime achievement award[58], in United States[59], founded in 1962[60]; Songwriters Hall of Fame[61]; Glenn Gould Prize[62]; Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec[63]; and Governor General's Performing Arts Award[64].

Personal Life

Among Leonard Cohen's spouses was Suzanne Elrod[13]. Children include Adam Cohen[14], a singer[65], b. 1972[66], of Canada[67], specialised in music[68] and Lorca Cohen[15], a videographer[69], b. 1974[70]. Religious affiliations include Judaism[71], a religion[72], founded in -0500[73] and Buddhism[74], a religion[75].

Death and Burial

Leonard Cohen died in Los Angeles[3]. He is buried at Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery[10].

Works and Contributions

Things named for Leonard Cohen include 24732 Leonardcohen[76].

Why It Matters

Leonard Cohen ranks in the top 0.28% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (14,492 views/month, #2,807 of 1,000,298).[9] He has Wikipedia articles in 29 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[77] He is known by 12 alternative names across languages and contexts.[78]

He has been cited as an influence by Gregory Alan Isakov[79], a singer-songwriter[80], b. 1979[81], of South Africa[82]; Eels[83], a rock band[84], founded in 1995[85]; Martha Wainwright[86], a singer-songwriter[87], b. 1976[88], of United States[89], specialised in music composing[90]; Nicolas Jaar[91], a musician[92], b. 1990[93], of United States[94]; Valérie Lagrange[95], an actor[96], b. 1942[97], of France[98], awarded the René Jeanne award[99]; and Graeme Allwright[100], a singer-songwriter[101], 1926–2020[102], of New Zealand[103], specialised in beekeeping[104].

Works attributed to him include Beautiful Losers[105], a literary work[106] and Book of Longing[107], a written work[108]. Entities named for him include 24732 Leonardcohen[76].

FAQs

Where was Leonard Cohen born?

Born in Montreal[2], Leonard Cohen…

Where did Leonard Cohen die?

Leonard Cohen passed away in Los Angeles[3].

Who were Leonard Cohen's parents?

Leonard Cohen's father was Nathan Bernard Cohen[11]. Leonard Cohen's mother was Marsha Klonitsky[12].

Who was Leonard Cohen married to?

Leonard Cohen's spouses include Suzanne Elrod[13].

What did Leonard Cohen do for work?

Leonard Cohen worked as singer-songwriter[4], poet[5], street artist[6], novelist[7], and writer[8].

Where did Leonard Cohen go to school?

Leonard Cohen was educated at McGill University[20], Columbia University[21], Westmount High School[22], and Camp B'nai Brith[23].

What awards did Leonard Cohen receive?

Honors received include Companion of the Order of Canada[26], Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[27], Songwriters Hall of Fame[61], and Glenn Gould Prize[62].

Who did Leonard Cohen influence?

Leonard Cohen has been cited as an influence by Gregory Alan Isakov[79], Eels[83], Martha Wainwright[86], and Nicolas Jaar[91].

References

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

Direct Wikidata claims

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  1. [28] . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
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Class ancestry

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  2. [77] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [78] . 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). Leonard Cohen. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/leonard-cohen
MLA “Leonard Cohen.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/leonard-cohen.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_leonard-cohen_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Leonard Cohen}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/leonard-cohen}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Leonard Cohen — https://4ort.xyz/entity/leonard-cohen (retrieved 2026-04-10)

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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. 2d ago · Rémi sim · 2026-05-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Unifrance person id 121509
    Relative Q7064751
    P14443 93176
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P3980]]: 121509, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/81098194|Leonard Cohen (#81098194)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/2825|Unifrance person]] #m"
  2. 12d ago · NeverDoING · 2026-05-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Award received Companion of the Order of Canada, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriters Hall of Fame +16
    "/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ [[Property:P166]]: [[Q41254]]"
  3. 21d ago · KrBot bot · 2026-05-06 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Award received Companion of the Order of Canada, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriters Hall of Fame +16
    "/* wbsetclaimvalue:1| */ [[Property:P166]]: [[Q57026126]], разрешение перенаправления / resolving redirect [[Q61478580]] → [[Q57026126]] ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/KrBotResolvingRedirect/Q61478580_Q570"
  4. 21d ago · Ytterbyz · 2026-05-06 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Image purged at
    Image purged license
    Image unavailable reason
    Image last checked license
    + 3 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P6927]]: leonard-cohen, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/214803788|leonard cohen (#214803788)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7190|NME artist]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.