Charles William Royster (November 27, 1944 – February 6, 2020) 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 st ...

and a Boyd Professor at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

Life

He was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

on November 27, 1944, the only son of Ferd Neuman Royster of

Robards, Kentucky Robards () is a home rule-class city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 515 at the 2010 census, down from 564 at the 2000 census. History The name of the precinct has gone through three changes. In 1868 it was of ...

, a

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...

minister, and Laura Jean (Smotherman) Royster of Carthage, Tennessee, an elementary school teacher (both now deceased). He moved with his parents and younger sister from

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1954, where, with the exception of his military duty, he continued to maintain residence until accepting a post-doctoral fellowship at

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

, revising his dissertation for publication as his first book, ''A Revolutionary People at War.'' He was

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tr ...

of his high school graduating class in

Dixon, California Dixon is a city in northern Solano County, California, United States, located from the state capital, Sacramento. It has a hot-summer mediterranean climate on the Köppen climate classification scale. Its population was 18,988 at the 2020 cen ...

, as well as manager of the basketball team, founder and president of the Chess Club, and recipient of several academic scholarships, which financed his tuition at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, from which he graduated with an A.B. in 1966, an M.A. in 1967, and a Ph.D in 1977. At Berkeley, he studied under

Robert Middlekauff Robert Lawrence Middlekauff (July 5, 1929 – March 10, 2021) was a professor of colonial and early United States history at the University of California, Berkeley. Career In 1983, Middlekauff became the President of Huntington Library, Art ...

, a historian of the Revolutionary period. During his years of service to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, he was stationed in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

, being honorably discharged as a captain prior to beginning his doctoral program in history. He was also a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

national academic honor society and was an avid supporter of the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 ...

(to whom he dedicated one of his books) for the past four decades. Dr. Royster's dissertation students have included Dr. Edward L. Bond, Dr. Robert Gudmestad, Dr. Andrew Lannen, Dr. James MacDonald, and Dr. Colin E. Woodward. He lived in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, E ...

Awards and honors

* 1981 Francis Parkman Prize * 1982

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

* 1992

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

* 1992

Lincoln Prize The Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, founded by the late Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman in partnership with Gabor Boritt, Director Emeritus of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, is administered by the Gilder Lehrman Institute for Ameri ...

* 1992 Charles Snydor Award * Society of American Historians Fellow

Works

* * * * (reprint 1996)

Editor

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royster, Charles William 1944 births 2020 deaths People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana University of California, Berkeley alumni Louisiana State University faculty 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Lincoln Prize winners Bancroft Prize winners Historians from Louisiana American male non-fiction writers