William Edward Leuchtenburg (/ˈlʌktənˌbɜːrɡ/LUCK-tuhn-berg; September 28, 1922 – January 28, 2025) was an American historian who was the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of History at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,^[3] and a leading scholar of the life and career ofFranklin Delano Roosevelt.

Leuchtenburg, a native ofQueens, New York, was born on September 28, 1922.^[4][5] He was of German and Irish descent.^[4] OnKen Burns' documentary seriesProhibition, he described, when he was a child, how his father was reported for operating an illegaldistillery during theProhibition Era.^[6] He received his BA degree in 1943 fromCornell University, where he was inducted into thePhi Beta Kappa Society. He later received his PhD fromColumbia University in 1951.^[7]

Leuchtenberg taught atColumbia University and theUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.^[4]

He won the 2007North Carolina Award for Literature.^[8]

He served as a program consultant forKen Burns' documentary seriesProhibition, which premiered onPBS in October 2011.^[9][10]

He was a president of theAmerican Historical Association, theOrganization of American Historians, and theSociety of American Historians.Eric Foner is the only other historian to claim that distinction.

Leuchtenberg's marriage to Jean McIntire, which ended in divorce, produced three children.^[4] He later married Jean Anne Williams.^[4]

Leuchtenberg was aDemocrat who was a delegate to the1952 Democratic National Convention and was active inliberal causes.^[4]

Leuchtenburgturned 100 on September 28, 2022,^[11] and died at his home inChapel Hill, North Carolina, on January 28, 2025, at the age of 102.^[4]

Leuchtenburg was the author of more than a dozen books on 20th-century history,^[12] including theBancroft Prize–winningFranklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940 (1963), a volume in theNew American Nation series co-edited by his mentorHenry Steele Commager andRichard B. Morris. His works include:

• "Progressivism and Imperialism: The Progressive Movement and American Foreign Policy, 1898-1916."Mississippi Valley Historical Review 39.3 (1952): 483–504.online^{[dead link]}
• "Roosevelt, Norris and the 'Seven Little TVAs'."Journal of Politics 14.3 (1952): 418–441.
• Flood Control Politics: The Connecticut River Valley Problem, 1927–1950 (1953)
• The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–32 (1958)ISBN 978-0-226-47371-0online
• The New Freedom: A Call for the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People (Introduction) (1961)
• The LIFE History of the United States, Volume 11: 1933–1945 – New Deal and Global War (1963)
• The LIFE History of the United States, Volume 12: From 1945 – The Great Age of Change (1963)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940 (1963)online
• "The Origins of Franklin D. Roosevelt's" Court-Packing" Plan."The Supreme Court Review 1966 (1966): 347–400.
• The New Deal: A Documentary History (1968)
• Growth of the American Republic (2 vols.) withSamuel Eliot Morison andHenry Steele Commager (1969)
• A Troubled Feast: American Society Since 1945 (1973)
• "A Klansman Joins the Court: The Appointment of Hugo L. Black."The University of Chicago Law Review 41 (1973): 1+.
• New Deal and Global War (1974)
• The Growth of the American Republic (Volume I) withSamuel Eliot Morison andHenry Steele Commager (1980)
• A Concise History of the American Republic (Single Volume) with Samuel Eliot Morison andHenry Steele Commager (1983)
• In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan (1989; fourth edition, subtitledFrom Harry Truman to Barack Obama, 2009)online
• The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–1932 (The Chicago History of American Civilization) (1993)
• The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt (1996)
• The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy (1997)
• American Places: Encounters with History (editor) (2000)
• That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt withRobert H. Jackson et al. (2004)
• The White House Looks South: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson (2005)
• The Executive Branch (2006)
• Herbert Hoover (The American Presidents Series) (2006)
• The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton (2015)
• Patriot Presidents: From George Washington to John Quincy Adams (2024)^[4]

• Appearances onC-SPAN
• William Leuchtenburg atIMDb

• 1922 births
• 2025 deaths
• 20th-century American historians
• 20th-century American male writers
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• 21st-century American male writers
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• American people of German descent
• American people of Irish descent
• American political scientists
• American political writers
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• Columbia University alumni
• Cornell University alumni
• Presidents of the American Historical Association
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty
• Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History
• Bancroft Prize winners
• Writers from Queens, New York

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