Paul Herman Buck (August 25, 1899 – December 23, 1978) was an American historian. He won the

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 ...

in 1938 and became the first Provost of

Harvard University 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 ...

in 1945.

Biography

Buck was born in Ohio. He received a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

(1921) and an MA (1922) from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. While an undergraduate, Buck was initiated into the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

fraternity. In 1922 he published his first book ''Evolution of the National Parks System''. He went to

for his graduate studies, and received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1924. After studying for one year in Britain and France under a Sheldon traveling fellowship, he joined Harvard as an instructor in history in 1926. He received a PhD degree from Harvard in 1935, and in 1936 he became assistant professor of American history at Harvard. He was appointed Associate Dean of Faculty in 1938, Associate Professor in 1939, and Dean of Faculty in 1942 at Harvard.Brennan & Clarage (1999), p. 289 On October 15, 1945, he became Harvard's first Provost (until 1953). In 1955 he became Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History, followed in 1958 by Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor. In 1955-64 he became director of the university's library. He died in 1978.

Pulitzer Prize and other work on history

While he was a history professor at Harvard, Buck was involved in extensive research at the university library and other libraries in the American East and Southeast which resulted in his study of the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. in the American South. Buck won the 1938

for ''The Road to Reunion, 1865-1900'' (1937),archive.org
/ref> about the history of politics and government during this era. He also published ''The Role of Education in American History'' in 1957, and ''Libraries & Universities: Addresses and Reports'' in 1964.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Oral history interview transcript for Paul Herman on 2 March 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
- interview conducted by Katherine Sopka {{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Paul Herman 1899 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the United States Ohio State University alumni Pulitzer Prize for History winners American male non-fiction writers