T. Harry Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 May 1909  |
| Died | 6 July 1979 (aged 70) |
| Occupation | |
| Awards | |
| Academic career | |
| Fields | History,biography |
Thomas Harry Williams (May 19, 1909 — July 8, 1979) was an American historian and author. For the majority of his academic career between the 1930s to 1970s, Williams taught history atLouisiana State University. While at LSU, Williams was a Boyd Professor of History from 1953 to 1979. Near the end of his tenure at LSU, the university created the T. Harry Williams Chair of American History. He also taught atextension schools in Wisconsin and at theMunicipal University of Omaha.
As an author, Williams wrote biographical works between the 1940s to 1970s, including multiple books onAbraham Lincoln andRutherford B. Hayes. He also wrote aboutP. G. T. Beauregard, theAmerican Civil War andHuey Long. In 1970,Huey Long won thePulitzer Prize for Biography and theNational Book Award in the History and Autobiography category. Williams received aGuggenheim Fellowship in 1956.
Williams was born inVinegar Hill,Illinois on May 19, 1909.[1] He grew up in theHazel Green, Wisconsin area with his family after the death of his mother.[2]
In the 1930s, Williams completed his post-secondary education atPlatteville State Teachers College and theUniversity of Wisconsin.[3]
During his studies at Wisconsin, Williams became aninstructor in 1936.[3] While teaching history for theirextension schools, Williams was dismissed from his position atWausau, Wisconsin in November 1936.[4] After his dismissal, Williams said his comments about theGettysburg Address andAbraham Lincoln were "misquoted and misrepresented".[5] The following month, Williams' position at Wausau was restored.[6] In between his extension tenures for Wisconsin, Williams briefly taught inWest Virginia University.[7] Williams remained with the extensions until he continued his instructive experience for theMunicipal University of Omaha in 1938. He was anassistant professor for Omaha by the time he left in 1941.[1]
In 1941, Williams began atLouisiana State University (LSU) as a historyprofessor.[8] While there, Williams taught about the Civil War.[9] He was named a Boyd professor for the university in 1953.[10] Williams continued to hold the position of Boyd Professor of History for Louisiana State until 1979.[1] In May of that year, Williams ended his tenure with LSU.[11]
Outside of the United States, Williams worked inEngland from 1966 to 1967.[12] While with theUniversity of Oxford, Williams was Harmsworth Professor of American History.[13]
While at Louisiana State, Williams'Lincoln and the Radicals was published in 1941.[14] In 1950, Williams began a three-decade career withLouisiana State University Press as the editor of their Southern Biography Series.[15] In 1952, Williams'Lincoln and His Generals was published. In 1956, Williams joined theBaton Rouge Advocate as a book reviewer and remained in his position until 1966.[16] Williams had written three more books aboutAbraham Lincoln by 1958, which included two publications about works written by Lincoln.[17] During this time period, Williams published a biography onP. G. T. Beauregard in 1955 titledBeauregard: Napoleon in Gray.[18] The following year, Williams used amanuscript authored by Beauregard to createWith Beauregard in Mexico: The Mexican Reminiscences of P.G.T. Beauregard as an editor.[19] From the 1960s to 1970s, Williams's works continued to focus on American historical events.[3]
For individual historical works, Williams published a 1962 book of collected essays about generals in theAmerican Civil War calledMcClellan, Sherman, and Grant.[20] This book onUnion generals focused onUlysses S. Grant,George B. McClellan andWilliam T. Sherman.[21] For a 1963 republication of a work byEdward Porter Alexander, Williams added apreface toMilitary Memoirs of a Confederate.[22][23] Williams used a diary byRutherford B. Hayes to createHayes: The Diary of a President in 1964.[24] Williams included historical summaries while keeping any errors that were made in the diary.[25] The following year, Williams wrote solely on Hayes's Army experience with his 1965 publicationHayes of the Twenty-Third: The Civil War Volunteer Officer.[26] In between Williams managed to write two volumes for an earlyTime Life Books series, the 1963-64The LIFE History of the United States series, which concerned volumes 5 ("The Union Sundered, 1849-1865",OCLC 228435529) and 6 ("The Union Restored, 1861-1876",OCLC 1407715615), both released in 1963.
Apart from the Civil War, Williams wrote aboutHuey Long between the early 1960s to early 1970s.[13] He started writing this biography in 1955.[27] His Long biography was published in 1969.[28] In 1977, Williams started a book aboutLyndon B. Johnson. After Williams conducted research on Johnson in 1979, he died before he could complete his biography.[29][30]
For his Civil War works, Williams useddiaries and othersecondary research materials.[2] Williams created the Long biography with his wife by using interviews conducted with atape recorder.[31] To create his books, Williams used terminology that was used in the past while writing his works with a notebook and pencil. Williams continuously edited his drafts until he was satisfied with all of the words in his paragraphs.[32]
In 1956, Williams received aGuggenheim Fellowship in the U.S. History category.[33] WithHuey Long, Williams won thePulitzer Prize for Biography in 1970.[34] That year,Huey Long also won theNational Book Award in the History and Autobiography category and the Louisiana Literary Award from theLouisiana Library Association.[35][36] Near the end of his tenure at Louisiana State, the university created the T. Harry Williams Chair of American History in 1979.[37][38] His incomplete work,The History of American Wars from 1745 to 1918, was posthumously published in 1981.[39] The 1983 posthumously published book,The Selected Essays of T. Harry Williams, contained both old and new essays written by Williams.[40]
Williams had one child during his marriage. He died inBaton Rouge, Louisiana on July 8, 1979.[41]
Previously the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography from 1917–2022 | ||
| 1917–1925 |
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| 1926–1950 |
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| 1951–1975 |
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| 1976–2000 |
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| 2001–2025 |
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