Publisher Alfred A. Knopf Jr. dead at 90

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. publisher Alfred A. Knopf Jr. has died in New York of complications following a fall, said his wife, Alice. He was 90.

The only child of the publishing titans Alfred A. and Blanche Wolf Knopf, Alfred A. Knopf. Jr. -- or Pat Knopf, as he was known -- worked at his parents' company for several years before leaving to become one of the founders of Atheneum Publishers in 1959, The New York Times noted.

Among the books Antheum published were the bestsellers "The Last of the Just" by Andre Schwarz-Bart, "The Making of the President, 1960" by Theodore H. White and "The Rothschilds: A Family Portrait" by Frederic Morton, as well as Edward Albee's classic play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."

Atheneum merged with Charles Scribner's Sons, another independent publishing house, in 1978 to form Scribner Book Companies. Charles Scribner Jr. took over as chairman and Knopf vice chairman of the new company. Scribner Book Companies was acquired in 1984 by Macmillan Inc., and Knopf assumed responsibility for all of the adult books published by Scribner's houses. He continued as a senior vice president at Macmillan until he retired in 1988, the Times said.

Knopf, who attended Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., for three years and served in the U.S. Army Air Force, is survived by his wife, Alice; his daughters Alison Insinger and Susan Knopf of New York; and his son David A. Knopf of San Francisco.