Evarts Boutell Greene (1870–1947) was an American historian, born in Kobe, Japan, where his parents were

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

. He graduated

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 highe ...

(B.A., 1890; Ph.D., 1893), and began teaching

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densel ...

(1894) at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

, where he was also (1906–1913) dean of the college of arts and literature. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1918. Called to

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 ...

in 1923, Greene was appointed (1926) the first

De Witt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely resp ...

professor of history and held that chair until his retirement in 1939. He also served (1936–1939) as chairman of Columbia's Institute of Japanese Studies. Greene was a noted authority on the colonial and Revolutionary periods of American history. He was elected to 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 1931. His principal works were The Provincial Governor in the English Colonies of North America (1898); Provincial America, 1690–1740 ( "American Nation" series, 1905, repr. 1964); The Foundations of American Nationality (1922; rev. ed. 1935, repr. 1968); A Guide to the Principal Sources for Early American History (1600–1800) in the City of New York (with Richard B. Morris, 1929); American Population before the Federal Census of 1790 (with Virginia D. Harrington, 1932, repr. 1953); and The Revolutionary Generation, 1763–1790 ( "History of American Life" series, Vol. IV, 1943, repr. 1971). He was the grandson of the Rev. Daniel Greene and Mary Evarts (sister of

William Maxwell Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a litig ...

), and the great-great-grandson of American founding father

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Con ...

. Among his students at Illinois was the historian

Allan Nevins Joseph Allan Nevins (May 20, 1890 – March 5, 1971) was an American historian and journalist, known for his extensive work on the history of the Civil War and his biographies of such figures as Grover Cleveland, Hamilton Fish, Henry Ford, and J ...

, who would succeed him as Clinton Professor at Columbia in 1939.

References

External links

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Evarts Boutell Greene Papers: 1893–1947American Historical AssociationAmerican Antiquarian Society
1870 births 1947 deaths Harvard University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Columbia University faculty American historians Presidents of the American Historical Association People from Kobe American expatriates in Japan {{US-historian-stub Members of the American Philosophical Society