Donald A. Ritchie
Donald A. Ritchie in 2011.
2ndHistorian of the United States Senate
In office 2009–2015
Preceded by	Richard A. Baker
Succeeded by	Betty Koed
Personal details
Born	(1945-12-23)December 23, 1945 (age 79)
Education	City College of New York (BA) University of Maryland, College Park (MS,PhD)

Donald A. Ritchie (born December 23, 1945) is Historian Emeritus of the United States Senate.

He graduated from theCity College of New York in 1967; and received a master's degree, in 1969, and a Ph.D., in 1975, from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park.^[1]

Ritchie served in theU.S. Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971.^[2]

As associate historian in the Senate Historical Office, beginning in 1976, Ritchie conductedoral history interviews with former senators and retired members of Senate staff as part of the Senate oral history project.^[3] In 2009 he became the Senate historian, succeedingRichard Baker, and held that post until his retirement in 2015.^[4]

Ritchie was responsible for editing the closed hearing transcripts of SenatorJoseph R. McCarthy's investigations,^[5] and has authored a number of books includingElecting FDR. His bookPress Gallery: Congress and the Washington Correspondents won him theRichard W. Leopold Prize of theOrganization of American Historians.^[6] He has served as president of theOral History Association and on the councils of theAmerican Historical Association and theInternational Oral History Association,^[6] as well as on the board of theSociety for History in the Federal Government.^[7]

External videos
Booknotes interview with Ritchie onPress Gallery, July 7, 1991,C-SPAN
After Words interview with Ritchie onReporting from Washington, March 6, 2005,C-SPAN
Washington Journal interview with Ritchie onOur Constitution, April 6, 2007,C-SPAN
Presentation by Ritchie onElecting FDR, February 14, 2008,C-SPAN
Q&A interview with Ritchie onThe U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction, August 15, 2010,C-SPAN
Interview with Ritchie onThe Columnist, February 12, 2021,C-SPAN
Q&A interview with Ritchie onThe Columnist, July 11, 2021,C-SPAN

Academic:

• James M. Landis: Dean of the Regulators. Harvard University Press. 1980.
• Press Gallery: Congress and the Washington Correspondents. Harvard University Press. 1991.ISBN 978-0-674-70375-9
• The Congress of the United States: A Student Companion. Oxford University Press. 1993.ISBN 978-0-19-530924-9.
• American Journalists: Getting the Story. Oxford University Press. 1997.ISBN 978-0-19-509907-2.
• Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps. Oxford University Press. 2005.ISBN 978-0-19-517861-6.
• Our Constitution. Oxford University Press. 2006.ISBN 978-0-19-522385-9
• Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932. University Press of Kansas. 2007.ISBN 978-0-7006-1687-9
• The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. 2010.
• Doing Oral History. Oxford University Press. 2014.ISBN 978-0-19-932933-5.
• The Columnist: Leaks, Lies, and Libel in Drew Pearson's Washington. Oxford University Press. 2021.
• Washington's Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell, an Oral History, with Terry L. Birdwhistell. University Press of Kentucky. 2022.

Textbooks:

• United States History and Geography,The American Vision,The American Republic, andThe American Journey, with Joyce Appleby, Alan Brinkley, Albert Broussard, and James McPherson (Glencoe/McGraw-Hill)
• United States Government, with Richard C. Remy, Lena Morreale Scott, and Megan L. Hanson (McGraw-Hill).

Editing:

• Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (McCarthy Hearings, 1953-1954). (Government Printing Office, 2003).
• The Oxford Handbook of Oral History (Oxford University Press, 2010)
• Congress and Harry S. Truman: A Conflicted Legacy (Truman State University Press, 2011)

• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Don Ritchie on the History of the Oral History Association, September 25, 2015.
• "Donald Ritchie on Deep Throat." [interview],National Review, June 1, 2005
• "Interview with Donald A. Ritchie, Oral Historian at the USA senate",veruscacalabria, August 9, 2010
• Fast Forward: Oral History in the 21st Century by Donald Ritchie
• The Election of 1932: Photographs
• The Election of 1932: Cartoons

• 1945 births
• 21st-century American historians
• 21st-century American male writers
• City College of New York alumni
• Employees of the United States Senate
• Living people
• United States Marines
• University of Maryland, College Park alumni
• Historians of the United States Senate
• American male non-fiction writers

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• People appearing on C-SPAN