A Historian Whose April Fools’ Day Origin Tale Took on a Life of Its Own
Joseph Boskin joined the BU faculty in 1969. Photo by BU Photography
A Historian Whose April Fools’ Day Origin Tale Took on a Life of Its Own
Joseph Boskin specialized in American history, pop culture, ethnicity, and conflict and violence
Joseph Boskin was a historian, a prolific author, and a professor emeritus of history at the College of Arts & Sciences and later at Metropolitan College.
But in 1983, he also became known for an April Fools’ Day origin story he spun out of thin air during an interview with the Associated Press, which published the story.
Boskin died February 16, 2025. He was 95.
Boskin joined the BU faculty in 1969 and was a professor of history and of ethnic and urban studies until 2015.
When the AP reporter called him about the history of April Fools’ Day, Boskin demurred. “I said, ‘I don’t know anything about the holiday, and I really can’t be of help to you,’” he told BU Today years later. But the reporter pushed, so Boskin created a convincing tale about a jester who became king; he named the character King Kugel after the noodle casserole. After the AP ran the story, Boskin got calls from news outlets asking him for more about King Kugel. He then recounted the incident to students in his BU Media and Social Change class, to remind them that they should question everything they hear. One of those students was a reporter for the Daily Free Press, according to BU Today, which published a story under the headline “Professor Fools AP.”
“The AP had a huge conniption when they read this,” Boskin told BU Today. “I got an immediate phone call from an editor there, who was furious, saying that I had ruined the career of a young reporter. He said I told a lie. ‘A lie?’ I asked, ‘I was telling an April Fools’ Day story.’” That young AP reporter, Fred Bayles (COM’72, Pardee’12), went on to a long career in journalism, at the AP and USA Today, and is a College of Communication professor emeritus of journalism.
Boskin earned a BA from the State University of New York at Oswego in 1951, an MA from New York University, and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1959. Throughout his career, he explored the subjects of American popular culture, ethnicity, conflict and violence, and humor, according to his obituary.
He began his teaching career at the University of Minnesota. Before joining the BU faculty, he was an adjunct professor of history at the State University of Iowa and an associate professor of history at the University of Southern California.
His books include Sambo: The Rise & Demise of an American Jester (Oxford University Press, 1988), Rebellious Laughter: People’s Humor in American Culture (Syracuse University Press, 1997), and A Comedy of Pretzels (Austin Macauley, 2023), published when he was 94 years old.
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