Edward Perkins Channing (June 15, 1856 – January 7, 1931) was an American historian and an author of a monumental ''History of the United States'' in six volumes, for which he won the 1926
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 ...
. His thorough research in printed sources and judicious judgments made the book a standard reference for scholars for decades. Channing taught at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
1883–1929 and trained many PhD's who became professors at major universities.
Life and works
Edward Channing was born in
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester ...
, the fifth child of Ellen Kilshaw Fuller (1820–1856), a sister of
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...
, and
William Ellery Channing
William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theologians. Channi ...
(1818–1901), the poet and walking companion of
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...
. Some months after his birth, his mother died, and he was placed out with a shoemaker and his wife in Abington, Mass. Some time around 1860, his paternal grandfather
Walter Channing and his daughter took care of him. Young Edward Channing attended a private school and entered Harvard College in autumn 1874. He received his A.B. in 1878, and two years later he received his PhD in history with a thesis on the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
. In 1880, his grandfather died, leaving an inheritance of $300 (). He undertook a nine-months tour through Europe, which led him also to the Near East and North Africa. After he returned, he wrote geographical articles for ''Science'', for example about the Sudan and geography-instruction at German schools. In 1883, he became an instructor of history at Harvard University and an assistant for professor
Charles Cutler Torrey
Charles Cutler Torrey (20 December 1863 – 12 November 1956) was an American historian, archaeologist and scholar. He is known for, presenting through his books, manuscript evidence supporting alternate views on the origins of Christian and Isla ...
. On July 22, 1886, he married the sister-in-law of
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Thomas Wentworth Higginson (December 22, 1823May 9, 1911) was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with ...
, Alice Thacher. They had two daughters.
He died at his home in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
on January 7, 1931.
Academic
In 1883 Channing received a prize of $150 for his work "Town and County Government in the English Colonies of North America". This monograph also brought him the membership in the
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...
and was the basis of the first paper given at the first meeting of the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
in 1884 in
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...
.
In 1883 Channing published a revised edition (translated by William H. Tillinghast) of ''
An Epitome of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History'' by German historian
Karl Ploetz, adding new sections on English and U.S. history.
In 1887 Channing became assistant professor, in 1897 professor, and in 1912
McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History (one of the oldest professorships for secular history in the United States, once held by
Jared Sparks
Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 – March 14, 1866) was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard College from 1849 to 1853.
Biography
Born in Willington, Connecticut, Sparks studied in the common s ...
). He retired in 1929.
Channing was elected a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
,
and a Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
.
He was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1885. Channing was elected president of the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
in 1919. In 1921 and 1926 respectively, he received honorary doctorates from
Michigan University
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
and
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 ...
.
Works
*''The Navigation Laws'' (1890)
*''The United States of America, 1765–1865'' (1896), a textbook. 2nd ed. 1930.
*''A History of the United States'' Vol. 1: The Planting of a Nation in the New World, 1000–1660 (1905)
*''A History of the United States'' Vol. 2: A Century of Colonial History, 1660–1760 (1908)
*''A History of the United States'' Vol. 3: The American Revolution, 1761–1789 (1912)
*''A History of the United States'' Vol. 4: Federalists and Republicans, 1789–1815
*''A History of the United States'' Vol. 5: The Period of Transition, 1815–1848 (1921)
*''A History of the United States'' Vol. 6: ''The War for Southern Independence, 1849–1865'' (1925), 1926
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 ...
* ''A Short History of the United States for School Use'', 1908
Secondary sources
* Cappon, Lester J. "Channing and Hart: Partners in Bibliography." ''New England Quarterly'' 29, no. 3 (Sept. 1956):318–340
in JSTOR* DeNovo, John A. "Edward Channing's 'Great Work' Twenty Years After." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 39, no. 2 (Sept. 1952):257–274
in JSTOR* Fahrney, Ralph Ray. "Edward Channing." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 18, no. 1 (June 1931):53–59, obituar
in JSTOR* Fahrney, Ralph Ray. "Edward Channing." In ''The Marcus W. Jernegan Essays in American Historiography,'' 294–312. Ed. by William T. Hutchinson. (1937).
* Joyce, Davis D. ''Edward Channing and the great work'' (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1974)
* Kraus, Michael, and Davis D. Joyce. ''The Writing of American History'' (1990) pp 203–20
online
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Channing, Edward
American historians
1856 births
1931 deaths
American people of English descent
Pulitzer Prize for History winners
Harvard College alumni
Harvard University faculty
Historians of the United States
Presidents of the American Historical Association
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Members of the American Antiquarian Society