David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (''

Albion's Seed ''Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer that details the folkways of four groups of people who moved from distinct regions of Great Britain ( Albion) to the United States. The argument is that ...

,'' ''

The Great Wave is a woodblock print by Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist Hokusai, created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history. The print depicts three boats moving through a storm-tossed sea, with a large wave forming a spiral in the centre an ...

'') to narrative histories of significant events (''Paul Revere's Ride,'' ''Washington's Crossing'') to explorations of

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

(''Historians' Fallacies'', in which he coined the term "

historian's fallacy The historian's fallacy is an informal fallacy that occurs when one assumes that decision makers of the past viewed events from the same perspective and having the same information as those subsequently analyzing the decision. It is not to be confu ...

").

Education

Fischer grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He received an A.B. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1958 and a Ph.D. from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1962.

Career

Fischer has been on the faculty of

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

for 50 years, where he is known for being interested in his students and history. He is best known for two major works: ''

'' (1989), and '' Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)'' (2004). In ''Albion's Seed'', he argues that core aspects of American culture stem from four British folkways and regional cultures and that their interaction and conflict have been decisive factors in U.S. political and historical development. In ''Washington's Crossing'', Fischer provides a narrative of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's leadership of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the winter of 1776–1777 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He was admitted as an honorary member of

The Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

in 2006. He is a member of the board of

College of the Atlantic College of the Atlantic (COA) is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States. Founded in 1969, it awards bachelors and masters (M.Phil.) degrees solely in the field of human ecology, an interdiscipli ...

in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Awards

'' Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)'' (2004) won the 2005

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 ...

and was a 2004 finalist for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in the Nonfiction category. He received the 2006

Irving Kristol Award The Irving Kristol Award is the highest honor conferred by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. The award is given for "notable intellectual or practical contributions to improved public policy and social welfare" and named ...

from the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...

. In 2008, he published '' Champlain's Dream,'' an exploration of

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

, the French explorer and founder of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. The book was a runner-up in the 2009

Cundill Prize The Cundill History Prize (formerly the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature) was founded in 2008 by Peter Cundill to recognize and promote literary and academic achievement in history. The prize is presented annually to an author who has publish ...

. In 2015, Fischer was named the recipient of the

Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing The Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing (formerly Pritzker Military Library Literature Award 2007-2013) is a literary award given annually by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. In addition to these literary awards, he has been recognized for his commitment to teaching with the 1990 Carnegie Prize as Massachusetts Professor of the Year and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Selected works

*''Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought'' (1970) *''The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy'' (1976) *''Growing Old in America'' (1977) Series: Chester Bland—Dwight E. Lee Lectures in History. *''Concord: The Social History of a New England Town 1750–1850'' (1984) (Editor) *'' Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' (1989) *''Paul Revere's Ride'' (1994), Oxford University Press, *'' The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History'' (1996) *''Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement'' (2000), with James C. Kelly, University of Virginia Press, *'' Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)'' (2004) *''Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas'' (2005) *'' Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America'' (2008) *''Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States'' (2012) *'' African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals'' (2022)

References

External links

Image and article about David Fischer and his awards.
* ttp://www.brandeis.edu/facguide/faculty?emplid=e09ad45a0c004f099ecc000d57381495164bdc45 Brandeis University History Department Faculty Pagebr>David Hackett Fischer
biographical sketch at ''Brandeis Magazine''

* ** ttp://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Hack ''In Depth'' interview with Fischer November 7, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, David Hackett 1935 births Living people Historians of the United States Pulitzer Prize for History winners Princeton University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Brandeis University faculty 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History 20th-century American male writers