Whitfield Jenks Bell Jr. (December 3, 1914 - January 2, 2009) was an American author and an expert on early American history, science, theAmerican Philosophical Society andBenjamin Franklin and his writings.
Bell was born inNewburgh, New York and grew up in suburbanPhiladelphia. He went to school atLower Merion High School (PA) and graduated in 1931.
After Bell graduated Lower Merion High School, he enrolled inDickinson College. He began studying law but did not complete his classes, deciding instead to pursue his interest in history.
Bell joined theFreemasons' Cumberland Star Lodge of Carlisle and achieved the status ofMaster Mason. He wrote the history of the Lodge to mark its 150th anniversary. Bell earned his doctorate in history in 1947, from theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[1]
Bell tried to enlist in the Army and the Navy when the United States entered the World War II, but was rejected due to poor eyesight. He drove an ambulance inNorth Africa,Italy andGermany. He also helped to liberate theBergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Bell taught history at Dickinson (1945-1950) and was appointed to the Boyd Lee Spahr endowed Chair of American History in 1950. In the same year, he edited the first volume of Spahr Lectures, Bulwark of Liberty. In 1953-54 he worked as a visiting editor ofWilliam and Mary Quarterly inWilliamsburg, Virginia. He moved to work at theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1955 to work on its growing collection ofBenjamin Franklin letters and writings.
Bell's career culminated as executive officer and librarian of theAmerican Philosophical Society.[1]
Bell retired in 1983 and thereafter, from 1984 to 1991, he was employed as a curator, during which time he continued to perform his own research, and published more than one hundred articles involving book reviews, and encyclopedia articles which he had published in six different works.[2]
Bell's contributions were recognized by theAmerican Association for the History of Medicine 1996 lifetime achievement award.
A volume of works[3] dedicated to Whitfield Bell was published in 1986.
Bell gave nine interviews to Michael J. Birkner, a professor of history atGettysburg College.
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