Norman Cousins (June 24, 1915 – November 30, 1990) was a prominent political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.

Cousins was born in Union City, New Jersey. At age 11, he was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis and placed in a sanatorium. Despite this, he was an athletic youth , and he claimed that as a young boy, he had “set out to discover exuberance.”

Cousins attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, New York City, graduating on February 3, 1933. He edited the high school paper, "The Square Deal", where his editing chops were already in evidence. Cousins received a bachelor’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.