Richard White (born 1947) is an American historian, two-time winner of the
Francis Parkman Prize
The Francis Parkman Prize, named after Francis Parkman, is awarded by the Society of American Historians for the best book in American history each year. Its purpose is to promote literary distinction in historical writing. The Society of American ...
, past President of the
Organization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...
, and the author of books about the American West, Native American history, the United States in the
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...
, railroads, capitalism, and
environmental history
Environmental history is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time, emphasising the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs and vice versa.
Environmental history first emerged in the United States out of th ...
. He is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History Emeritus at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
. Earlier in his career, he taught at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
,
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, and
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
.
He received his bachelor's degree from the
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...
, and his
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the University of Washington.
White was founding director of Stanford'
Spatial History Project which implements digital technologies and analyses to illuminate patterns and anomalies for research purposes.
He was chosen for the
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...
in 1995, and was elected a Member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 2016.
Works
*''Land Use, Environment, and Social Change: The Shaping of Island County, Washington''. University of Washington Press, 1979. (hardback); (1992 paperback).
*''The Roots of Dependency: Subsistence, Environment, and Social Change Among the Choctaws, Pawnees, and Navajos''. University of Nebraska Press, 1983. ; (1988 paperback).
*''The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815''. Cambridge University Press, 1991. (hardback); (paperback).
*''"It's Your Misfortune and None of my Own": A History of the American West''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. .
*''The Frontier in American Culture: An Exhibition at the Newberry Library, August 26, 1994-January 7, 1995'', with
Patricia Nelson Limerick
Patricia Nelson Limerick (born May 17, 1951) is an American historian, author, lecturer and teacher, considered to be one of the leading historians of the American West.
Early life and education
Limerick is the daughter of Grant and Patricia Ne ...
, edited by James Grossman. University of California, 1994. ; (paperback).
*''The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River.'' New York: Hill and Wang, 1996. .
*''Remembering Ahanagran: A History of Stories''. New York: Hill and Wang, 1998. .
*"Corporations, Corruption, and the Modern Lobby: A Gilded Age Story of the West and the South in Washington, D.C.", ''Southern Spaces'', 16 April 2009
online*''Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America''. New York:
W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. (cloth).
* ''The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896'' (
Oxford History of the United States
The Oxford History of the United States (1982–present) is an ongoing multi-volume narrative history of the United States published by Oxford University Press.
Volumes
Series overview
Woodward editorship
The series originated in the 1950s wit ...
, 2017).
* ''California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History'', with photographs by Jesse Amble White. New York:
W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. (cloth).
* ''Who Killed Jane Stanford: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University''
W. W. Norton & Company, 2022.
Awards and honors
Francis Parkman Prizefor best book on American history (''The Middle Ground''), 1992
*
Albert J. Beveridge Award The Albert J. Beveridge Award is awarded by the American Historical Association (AHA) for the best English-language book on American history (United States, Canada, or Latin America) from 1492 to the present. It was established on a biennial basis ...
for best English-language book on American history (''The Middle Ground''), 1992
Albert B. Corey Prizefor best book on U.S.-Canadian history (''The Middle Ground''), 1992
for book on history of race relations in the United States (''The Middle Ground''), 1992
Pulitzer Prize Nominated Finalist''The Middle Ground'', 1992, and ''Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America'', 2011
for ''"It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own"'', 1992
*
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...
fellowship, 1995
*
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ( ...
(History), ''Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America'', 2011
Notes
External links
"Bibliography of historian Richard White"*
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Richard
1947 births
Living people
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
Environmental historians
Historians of the United States
Historians of race relations
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni
University of Washington alumni
University of Washington faculty
University of Utah faculty
Michigan State University faculty
Stanford University Department of History faculty
MacArthur Fellows
Historians of the American West
Members of the American Philosophical Society
American male non-fiction writers