Don Higginbotham (May 22, 1931 – June 22, 2008) was an American historian and Dowd Professor of History and Peace, War, and Defense at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
. A leading scholar 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 ...
, he was a pioneering practitioner of the “new” military history and an expert on colonial and revolutionary America and the early national United States. He served twice (1975–76 and 1998–99) as visiting professor of history at the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
.
Background
A native of Malden, Missouri, Higginbotham attended
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, where he received his A.B. and M.A. degrees. He enrolled as a doctoral student at the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
but in 1955 followed Professor John R. Alden, his adviser, to
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
. In 1958, upon the completion of his dissertation on Brigadier General
Daniel Morgan
Daniel Morgan (1735–1736July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...
, Duke awarded him his Ph.D. He taught at
Longwood College
Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia. Founded in 1839, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of the hundred oldest institutions of higher education in the United States. Previously a college, Lo ...
, the
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 III a ...
, and
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 nea ...
prior to joining the faculty at Chapel Hill where, for 41 years, he taught undergraduate and graduate students.
Achievements
Higginbotham spent five years at the helm of UNC’s history department and served as president of th
Southern Historical Association(1990–1991) and the
Society for Historians of the Early American Republic The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) is an organization that was established in 1977 to study the history of the United States in the period between 1775 and 1861.
The Society holds annual conferences, awards prizes an ...
(1992–1993).
He published numerous essays in collected volumes as well as articles in journals such as the ''
William and Mary Quarterly
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
'', the ''
American Historical Review
''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...
'', the ''
Journal of Military History
''The Journal of Military History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the military history of all times and places. It is the official journal of the Society for Military History. The journal was established in 1937 and the ...
'', the ''Journal of Southern History'', and the ''
Journal of the Early Republic
The ''Journal of the Early Republic'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on the early culture and history of the United States from 1776–1861. The journal is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press
The Uni ...
''. He authored or edited many books, including ''Daniel Morgan, Revolutionary Rifleman'' (1961); ''The Atlas of the American Revolution'' (1974); ''The Papers of James Iredell'' (2 vols., 1976); ''Reconsiderations on the Revolutionary War'' (1978); ''George Washington and the American Military Tradition'' (1985); ''War and Society in Revolutionary America: The Wider Dimensions of Conflict'' (1988); ''George Washington Reconsidered'' (2001); ''George Washington: Uniting a Nation'' (2002); and ''Revolution in America: Considerations and Comparisons'' (2005). His 1971 book, ''The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice'', was nominated for 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 ...
and remains the standard account of the war and its effects on society. At the time of his death he remained at work on a book manuscript tentatively titled ''George Washington, Revolutionary''—a study of Washington’s leadership as Continental Army commander-in-chief, head of the Constitutional Convention, and first U.S. president.
Notes
External links
UNC faculty bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbotham, Don
Historians of the United States
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty
University of Nebraska alumni
Duke University alumni
Historians of the American Revolution
Longwood University faculty
College of William & Mary faculty
Louisiana State University faculty
1931 births
2008 deaths
Washington University in St. Louis alumni