David Herlihy (May 8, 1930 – February 15, 1991) was an American historian who wrote on

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

life. He was married to historian Patricia Herlihy; one of their sons is the historian of bicycles,

David V. Herlihy David V. Herlihy (born July 30, 1958) is an author and historian. He is notable for writing ''Bicycle: The History'', published by Yale University Press, and ''Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance' ...

. Topics of his included domestic life, especially the roles of women, and the changing structure of the family. He studied for his bachelor's degree at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

, received a doctoral 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 w ...

and taught at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

, the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

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 ...

and

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

. His study of the Florentine and

Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...

Catasto of 1427 is one of the first statistical surveys to use computers to analyze large amounts of data. The resulting book examines statistical patterns in tax-collecting surveys to find indications of social trends. The University of San Francisco history department named their annual award for the best student-written history paper the David Herlihy Prize, and Brown University has established a David Herlihy University Professorship.

Life

David Joseph Herlihy was born the youngest of four in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

in 1930 to Irishman Maurice Herlihy, of

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, and Irish American Irene O'Connor. His parents had eloped in

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of th ...

in California. He was a member of the school debating team and met his wife-to-be Patricia McGahey at a match as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

. At college, his published his first article in the journal of the

American Catholic Historical Society The American Catholic Historical Society (ACHS) is a historical society based at 263 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1884, it is the oldest Catholic historical society in the United States. The goal of the society is to ...

of Philadelphia. It was about Peter Yorke and the

American Protective Association The American Protective Association (APA) was an American Anti-Catholicism, anti-Catholic secret society established in 1887 by Protestants. The organization was the largest anti-Catholic movement in the United States during the later part of the ...

. He got his bachelor's degree with all As in three years from the University of San Francisco.

Herb Caen Herbert Eugene Caen (; April 3, 1916 February 1, 1997) was a San Francisco humorist and journalist whose daily column of local goings-on and insider gossip, social and political happenings, and offbeat puns and anecdotes—"A continuous love le ...

reported this achievement at the time. He studied

Byzantine history This history of the Byzantine Empire covers the history of the Eastern Roman Empire from late antiquity until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the transitional period during which the Rom ...

at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

. He received his master's degree in 1953. He went on to undertake a fellowship at Yale, where he worked on the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in Italy with

Robert Lopez Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals, best known for co-creating ''The Book of Mormon'' and ''Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney computer-animated films '' Frozen'', its seque ...

. He had his first son, Maurice, before bringing his young family to

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ci ...

for a year between 1954 and 1955 (courtesy of the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

). Bryn Mawr hired him in 1955; he was to work there for the next nine years. In the meanwhile, he wrote a dissertation on Pisa, for which Yale awarded him a doctoral degree in 1956. This effort was the groundwork for his first book, published by

Yale 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 wor ...

in 1958, ''Pisa in the Early Renaissance.'' The Guggenheim sent him to Florence for a year between 1961 and 1962. His wife was also in Florence that year, with a grant of her own from the Fulbright Association. The city flooded during their stay. From 1964 to 1972, he was in the faculty of the University of Wisconsin and earned tenure there. Herlihy's next trip to Florence was 1966–1967, as fellow of the

American Council of Learned Societies American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. He produced his second book (on

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a ty ...

) shortly after. He was a member of both 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 ...

and 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, a ...

Quotes

Bibliography

* ''Pisa In The Early Renaissance; A Study Of Urban Growth'', 1958 * ''Medieval And Renaissance Pistoia; The Social History Of An Italian Town, 1200–1430'', 1967 * ''Medieval Culture and Society'', 1968 (compiler) * ''The History of Feudalism'', 1970 (compiler) * ''Women in Medieval Society'', 1971 * ''The Social History Of Italy And Western Europe, 700–1500'', 1978 * ''Les Toscans Et Leurs Familles : Une étude Du "Catasto" Florentin De 1427'', 1979 (with Christiane Klapisch-Zuber) * ''Cities And Society In Medieval Italy'', 1980 * ''Medieval Households'', 1985 * ''Tuscans and their Families'', 1985 * ''Opera Muliebria : Women And Work In Medieval Europe'', 1990 *''The Black Death and the Transformation of the West'', 1997 (posthumous, edited by Samuel Cohn)

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herlihy, David Joseph 1930 births 1991 deaths University of San Francisco alumni Yale University alumni Bryn Mawr College faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Harvard University faculty Brown University faculty Presidents of the American Historical Association 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America 20th-century American male writers Members of the American Philosophical Society