William Edward Leuchtenburg (born September 28, 1922) is an American historian. He is the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of History at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 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 States ...

, and a leading scholar of the life and career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Career

Leuchtenburg was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on September 28, 1922. On Ken Burns' documentary series ''

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

'', he described, when he was a child, how his father was reported for operating an illegal distillery during the

Prohibition Era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...

. He received his BA degree in 1943 from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, where he was inducted into the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

Society. He later received his PhD from

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 1951. He won the 2007

North Carolina Award The North Carolina Award is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is awarded in the four fields of science, literature, the fine arts, and public service. Sometimes referred to as the "Nobel Prize of North Carol ...

for Literature. He served as a program consultant for Ken Burns' documentary series ''

'', which premiered on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in October, 2011. He is a past president of the

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 ...

, the Organization of American Historians, and the Society of American Historians.

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstruc ...

is the only other historian to claim that distinction. Leuchtenburg turned 100 on September 28, 2022.

Bibliography

Leuchtenburg is the author of more than a dozen books on 20th-century history, including the

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

–winning ''Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940'' (1963), a volume in the '' New American Nation'' series co-edited by his mentor

Henry Steele Commager Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) was an American historian. As one of the most active and prolific liberal intellectuals of his time, with 40 books and 700 essays and reviews, he helped define modern liberalism in the United States. In the 19 ...

and Richard B. Morris. His works include: * "Progressivism and Imperialism: The Progressive Movement and American Foreign Policy, 1898-1916." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 39.3 (1952): 483-504
online
* "Roosevelt, Norris and the" Seven Little TVAs"." ''Journal of Politics'' 14.3 (1952): 418-441. *''Flood Control Politics: The Connecticut River Valley Problem, 1927–1950'' (1953) *''The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–32'' (1958)
online
*''The New Freedom: A Call for the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People (Introduction)'' (1961) *''The LIFE History of the United States, Volume 11: 1933–1945 – New Deal and Global War'' (1963) *''The LIFE History of the United States, Volume 12: From 1945 – The Great Age of Change'' (1963) *''Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940'' (1963
online
* "The Origins of Franklin D. Roosevelt's" Court-Packing" Plan." ''The Supreme Court Review 1966'' (1966): 347-400. *''The New Deal: A Documentary History'' (1968) *''Growth of the American Republic'' (2 vols.) with

Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...

and

(1969) *''A Troubled Feast: American Society Since 1945'' (1973) * "A Klansman Joins the Court: The Appointment of Hugo L. Black." ''The University of Chicago Law Review'' 41 (1973): 1+. *''New Deal and Global War'' (1974) *''The Growth of the American Republic'' (Volume I) with

and

(1980) *''A Concise History of the American Republic'' (Single Volume) with Samuel Eliot Morison and

(1983) *''In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan'' (1989; fourth edition, subtitled ''From Harry Truman to Barack Obama,'' 2009
online
*''The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–1932'' (The Chicago History of American Civilization) (1993) *''The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt'' (1996) *''The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy'' (1997) *''American Places: Encounters with History'' (editor) (2000) *''That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt'' with Robert H. Jackson et al. (2004) *''The White House Looks South: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson'' (2005) *''The Executive Branch'' (2006) *''Herbert Hoover (The American Presidents Series)'' (2006) *''The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton'' (2015)

References

External links

*
Interview
in

Smithsonian magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

Interviewed on Humankind public radio showTestified to Senate Committee Judiciary against the Bork nomination, 23 September 1987
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leuchtenburg, William 1922 births Living people 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American centenarians Men centenarians American political scientists American political writers American male non-fiction writers Columbia University alumni Cornell University alumni Presidents of the American Historical Association University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History Bancroft Prize winners