Claude Halstead Van Tyne (October 16, 1869 – March 21, 1930) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. He was a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in 1902. He taught history at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1903 to 1930 and wrote several books on the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. He won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for ''

The War of Independence ''The War of Independence'' is a nonfiction history book by American historian Claude H. Van Tyne, published in 1929. It explains the history and causes of the American Revolutionary War. Van Tyne won the Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer ...

'' in 1930.

Biography

Van Tyne was born in

Tecumseh, Michigan Tecumseh is a city in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the River Raisin. Tecumseh is about southwest of Detroit, south of Ann Arbor, and north of Toledo, Ohio. The main street of downtown is Chicago Boulevard, also designat ...

, to Lawrence H. and Helena van Tyne.Brennan & Clarage (1999), pp. 284 He started his career in banking, and ascended to the

cashier A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the ...

position. He left his banking career, and went to the

to pursue his higher studies. He finished a B.A. degree in 1896. From 1897–1898, he studied in Leipzig, Heidelberg, and Paris. He went back to the U.S., and finished a PhD degree at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He was a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania for few years, before joining the University of Michigan as an assistant professor of history in 1903.Fischer & Fischer (2002), pp. 251 He became professor in 1906 and head of the history department in 1911. He taught history at Michigan and chaired the department until his death in 1930. He lectured in the French provincial universities in 1913–1914. He married Belle Josling in 1896; they went on to have three sons, and one daughter. He died at his home in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

on March 21, 1930, after a long illness.

Publications and the Pulitzer Prize

Van Tyne wrote several books on the

includin
''The Loyalists in the American Revolution''
(1902), ''The Causes of the War of Independence'' (1922), ''England & America: Rivals in the American Revolution'' (1927), and ''

'' (1929). He also wrote ''Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington'' (coauthor: Waldo G. Leland; 1904), ''A History of the United States for Schools'' (co-author

Andrew C. McLaughlin Andrew Cunningham McLaughlin (February 14, 1861 – September 24, 1947) was an American historian known as an authority on U.S. Constitutional history. Background McLaughlin was born in Illinois and received his bachelor's and law degrees from the ...

, 1911)babel.hathitrust.org
/ref> and ''India in Ferment'' (1923). He won the annual

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

in 1930 for ''The War of Independence''."History"
The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved November 25, 2013.

References

;Other sources * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Tyne, Claude H. 1869 births 1930 deaths Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the United States Pulitzer Prize for History winners University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni People from Tecumseh, Michigan Historians from Michigan