Roy Franklin Nichols (March 3, 1896 – January 12, 1973) 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 st ...

, who won the 1949

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 ...

for '' The Disruption of American Democracy''.

Biography

Nichols was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, to Franklin Coriell and Annie Cairns Nichols. His wife was the historian Jeannette Paddock Nichols (1890–1982). He graduated from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

in 1918. He completed a

Master of Arts 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 ...

degree from Rutgers in 1919. He was a fellow at

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 ...

from 1920 to 1921,Fischer & Fischer (2002), p. 177 and an instructor in history at Columbia from 1921 to 1925.Brennan & Clarage (1999), p. 295 He completed a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

degree from Columbia in 1923. In 1925 he was appointed assistant professor of history at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. From 1930 to 1966, he was professor of history at Pennsylvania. He also was Dean of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1952–66), and Vice Provost at Pennsylvania (1953–66). He was a visiting professor at Columbia (1944–45),

Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions The Pitt Professorship of American History and Institutions was established at the University of Cambridge on 5 February 1944 from a sum of £44,000 received from the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press in 1943 and augmented by a further £5,0 ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(1948–49), and

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 conside ...

(1952). In 1962 he was Fulbright lecturer in India and Japan. He was president of Middle States Association of History Teachers (1932–33); President of the Pennsylvania Historical Association (1936-1939); President of

Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

(1940–42); Member of Pennsylvania Historical Commission (1940–43); Member of Council,

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

(1943–47); Chairman of Social Science Research Council (1949–53); President of Association of Graduate Schools of the

American Association of Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...

(1963–64); Vice President of American Historical Association (1964–65); President of American Historical Association (1965–66); and, Chairman of Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. He was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

Awards and Honorary Degrees

Nichols received Haney Medal for Literary Excellence in 1961, and

Athenaeum Literary Award The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814 to collect materials ...

in 1961. He has also received a number of

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

s from universities such as Rutgers University and Cambridge University.

Publications

* ''The Democratic Machine, 1850–1854'' (1923) * ''Franklin Pierce: Young Hickory of the Granite Hills'' (1931; 2nd ed. 1958) * '' The Disruption of American Democracy'' (1948). (1949

) * ''Advance Agents of American Destiny'' (1956) * ''Religion and American Democracy'' (1959) * ''Blueprints for Leviathan: American Style'' (1963) * ''History in a Self-Governing Culture'' (1966) * ''The Invention of the American Political Parties'' (1967) * ''The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission: A History '' (1967)

Notes

References

* *

External links

Roy Franklin Nichols biographyPapers of Roy Nichols at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Roy Franklin 1896 births 1973 deaths Academics of the University of Cambridge 20th-century American historians Columbia University fellows Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty Historians of the United States Presidents of the American Historical Association Pulitzer Prize for History winners Rutgers University alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Writers from Newark, New Jersey 20th-century American male writers Expatriate academics in the United Kingdom American expatriate academics Baptists from New Jersey Historians from New Jersey 20th-century Baptists Fulbright alumni