Dumas Malone (January 10, 1892 – December 27, 1986)
was an American historian, biographer, and editor noted for his six-volume biography on
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, ''
Jefferson and His Time
''Jefferson and His Time'' is a six-volume biography of US President Thomas Jefferson by American historian Dumas Malone, published between 1948 and 1981.
The six volumes were published individually as follows:
*''Jefferson the Virginian'' (1948 ...
'', for which he received the 1975
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 history and his co-editorship of the twenty-volume
Dictionary of American Biography
The ''Dictionary of American Biography'' was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
History
The dictionary was first proposed to the Council in 1920 by hi ...
. In 1983, he was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
.
Early life and education
Malone was born at
Coldwater,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, on January 10, 1892, the son of clergyman John W. and suffragist schoolteacher, Lillian Kemp Malone.
In 1910, he received his bachelor's degree from Emory College (
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
). He was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity. In 1916 he received his divinity degree from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. Between 1917 and 1919 during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he became a second lieutenant in the
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
. Following the war, he returned to Yale University where he obtained his Master's (1921) and doctorate (1923) degrees. He won the
John Addison Porter
John Addison Porter (March 15, 1822 – August 25, 1866) was an American professor of chemistry and physician. He is the namesake of the John Addison Porter Prize and was a founder of the Scroll and Key senior society of Yale University.
Acad ...
prize in 1923 for his dissertation, ''The Public Life of
Thomas Cooper 1783–1839 ''(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1926).
The linguist and historian
Kemp Malone
Kemp Malone (March 14, 1889 in Minter City, Mississippi – October 13, 1971) was a prolific medievalist, etymologist, philologist, and specialist in Chaucer who was lecturer and then professor of English Literature at Johns Hopkins Universit ...
is his older brother.
He married Elizabeth Gifford in 1925, and they had two children.
Career
Malone served on the faculty of
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, where he was the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History. He was a Director of the
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
and served as editor of the original ''Dictionary of American Biography in'' 1929''.'' His first contribution to historical scholarship was a still authoritative biography of the American political commentator and educator Thomas Cooper (Yale University Press, 1926).
He is best known for his six-volume biography of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, published between 1948 and 1981, for which he earned the 1975
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 ...
. Among the many contributions of this authoritative study was Malone's inclusion in each volume of a detailed timeline of Jefferson's activities and frequent travels in his life. Malone's volumes were widely praised for their lucid and graceful writing style, for their rigorous and thorough scholarship, and for their attention to Jefferson's evolving constitutional and political thought.
The six volumes, originally published by Atlantic/Little, Brown, and republished by the University of Virginia Press in 2005, were:
* ''Jefferson the Virginian'' (1948)
* ''Jefferson and the Rights of Man'' (1951)
* ''Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty'' (1962)
* ''Jefferson the President: First Term, 1801–1805'' (1970)
* ''Jefferson the President: Second Term, 1805–1809'' (1974)
* ''The Sage of Monticello'' (1981).
Malone also published a set of lectures, ''Thomas Jefferson as Political Leader,'' (1963) with the University of California Press.
His eyesight deteriorated markedly as he became older, making it necessary to use various technologies such as voice recorders and a Visualtek to enlarge texts while writing his last two Jefferson books.
Legacy and honors
*1983 – President Ronald Reagan awarded Malone the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
.
Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom
1983-02-23, retrieved 2009-07-30
Malone died on December 27, 1986, at Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. He is buried at the University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium in Charlottesville.
References
Further reading
* Robert M. S. McDonald, ed. ''Thomas Jefferson's Lives: Biographers and the Battle for History'' (University of Virginia Press, 2019) pp. 219–24
online
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Dumas
20th-century American biographers
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
Historians of the United States
Pulitzer Prize for History winners
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Emory University alumni
Yale Divinity School alumni
United States Marine Corps officers
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I
Historians from Mississippi
People from Coldwater, Mississippi
1892 births
1986 deaths
Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery
20th-century American male writers