Elliot E. Cohen (born March 14, 1899, in Des Moines, Iowa, to a Jewish family) was a prominent figure among the New York Intellectuals, known for his work in Jewish intellectual publications. He attended Yale University, contributing light verse to The Yale Record, and early in his career co-founded the Menorah Journal, focused on Jewish intellectual life, before serving as an editor for the American Jewish Committee. In 1945, Cohen founded and became the first editor of Commentary magazine, shaping its early liberal Jewish intellectual tone through 1958. He struggled with mental health issues in his later years, culminating in his suicide on May 28, 1959, in New York City at age 60.