Roy Prentice Basler (November 19, 1906 – October 25, 1989) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

who rose to prominence in the middle of the 20th century. Basler was most famous for editing the collected works of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. He also wrote the introduction to

Sam Watkins Samuel Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was an American writer and humorist. He fought through the entire American Civil War and saw action in many battles. Today, he is best known for his memoir ''"Co. Aytch"'' (1882), which recou ...

' "Co Aytch"

Biography

Basler was born in St. Louis and attended Central Methodist College in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. The ...

before receiving his PhD in American literature at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. He headed the English departments at Ringling College, Florence State Teachers' College and Peabody College, and was executive secretary and editor-in-chief of the

Abraham Lincoln Association The Abraham Lincoln Association (ALA) is an American association advancing studies on Abraham Lincoln and disseminating scholarship about Lincoln. The ALA was founded in 1908 to lead a national celebration of Lincoln's 100th birthday and continues ...

from 1947 to 1952. He joined the staff of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in 1952 and eventually became chief of the manuscript division and held the library's chair in American history. He retired in 1974 and moved to

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, where he died in 1989. Basler's definitive eight volume collection of Lincoln's writings was published in 1953 and a supplement was released in 1974. It has been described as "the principal source" and "the most invaluable work of all" for Lincoln studies.

Herbert Mitgang Herbert Mitgang (January 20, 1920 – November 21, 2013) was an American author, editor, journalist, playwright, and producer of television news documentaries. Life Born in Manhattan, he graduated with a law degree from what is now St. John's Uni ...

"After 175 Years, They Still Pursue Lincoln"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 12, 1984.

Bibliography

*''The Lincoln Legend: A Study in Changing Conceptions''. By Roy Basler. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1935. *
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln
'. By Abraham Lincoln (Author), Roy P. Basler (Editor). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1953. *''The Muse and the Librarian''. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1974.

References

1906 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of Abraham Lincoln 20th-century American male writers {{US-historian-stub