Donald E. Worcester (1915-2003) was an American historian who specialized in Southwestern United States and Latin American history. He was president of the

Western History Association The Western History Association (WHA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1961 at Santa Fe, New Mexico by Ray Allen Billington et al. Included in the field of study are the American West and western Canada. The Western Histor ...

from 1974-1975. Worcester graduated from

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

in 1939. He received an M.A. from the

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 u ...

in 1941. He then served in the US Naval Reserve in World War II. He received a PhD. from Berkeley in 1947. From 1947 until 1963 he was a professor at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He then was a professor at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

and history department chair. From 1960 until 1965 he was managing editor of the ''

Hispanic American Historical Review ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'' is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal of Latin American history, the official publication of the Conference on Latin American History, the professional organization of Latin American historia ...

''. Worcester's view that history is made of complexities, not dualities, is seen as foundational for much of the understanding by later scholars of Southwest United States history.

Books

*''Sea Power and Chilean Independence'' (1962) *''Brazil: From Colony to World Power'' (1973) *''Bolivar'' (Boston: Little, Brown, 1977) this work was aimed at the general reader and has been called a solid treatment of the subject.Daniel S. Burt, ''The Biography Book: A Reader's Guide to Nonfiction, Fictional, and Film Biographies of the 500 Most Fascinating Individuals of All Time'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001) p. 36 *''The Apaches: Eagles of the Southwest'' (1979) *''The Chisholm Trail: High Road of the Cattle Kingdom'' (1980) *''The War in the Nueces Strip'' (1989)

Sources

Western History Association bio of Worcester

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, Donald E. 1915 births Bard College alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers University of Florida faculty Texas Christian University faculty 2003 deaths 20th-century American male writers