David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (''

Albion's Seed ''Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer that details the folkways of four groups of people who moved from distinct regions of Great Britain ( Albion) to the United States. Fischer's argumen ...

,'' '' The Great Wave'') to narrative histories of significant events (''Paul Revere's Ride,'' ''

Washington's Crossing Washington's Crossing is the location of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, 1776 in the American Revolutionary War. This maneuver led to victory in the Battle of Trenton. The site, a National Hi ...

'') to explorations of

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

(''Historians' Fallacies'', in which he coined the term "

historian's fallacy The historian's fallacy is an informal fallacy that occurs when one assumes that decision makers of the past viewed events from the same perspective and having the same information as those subsequently analyzing the decision. It is not to be confu ...

").

Education

Fischer grew up in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He received an A.B. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1958 and a Ph.D. from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1962.

Career

Fischer has been on the faculty of

for 50 years, where he is known for being interested in his students and history. He is best known for two major works: ''

'' (1989), and ''

'' (2004). In ''Albion's Seed'', he argues that core aspects of American culture stem from four British folkways and regional cultures and that their interaction and conflict have been decisive factors in U.S. political and historical development. In ''Washington's Crossing'', Fischer provides a narrative of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's leadership of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

in the winter of 1776–1777 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Fischer was admitted as an honorary member of

The Society of the Cincinnati ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

in 2006. He is a member of the board of the

College of the Atlantic College of the Atlantic (COA) is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Founded in 1969, it awards bachelors and masters ( M.Phil.) degrees solely in the field of human ecology, an interdisciplinary approa ...

in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Awards

'' (2004) won the 2005

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 histor ...

and was a 2004 finalist for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

in the Nonfiction category. He received the 2006

Irving Kristol Award The Irving Kristol Award is the highest honor conferred by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. The award is given for "notable intellectual or practical contributions to improved public policy and social welfare" and name ...

from the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

. In 2008, he published ''

Champlain's Dream ''Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America'' is a biography written by American historian David Hackett Fischer and published in 2008. It chronicles the life of French soldier, spy, master mariner, explorer, cartographer, artis ...

,'' an exploration of

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

, the French explorer and founder of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. The book was a runner-up in the 2009

Cundill Prize The Cundill History Prize is an annual Canadian book prize for "the best history writing in English". It was established in 2008 by Peter Cundill and is administered by McGill University. The prize encourages "informed public debate through the wi ...

. In 2015, Fischer was named the recipient of the

Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing The Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing (formerly Pritzker Military Library Literature Award 2007-2013) is a literary award given annually by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. In addition to these literary awards, he has been recognized for his commitment to teaching with the 1990 Carnegie Prize as Massachusetts Professor of the Year and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Selected works

*''Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought'' (1970) *''The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy'' (1976) *''Growing Old in America'' (1977) Series: Chester Bland—Dwight E. Lee Lectures in History. *''Concord: The Social History of a New England Town 1750–1850'' (1984) (Editor) *'' Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' (1989) . ''Albion's Seed'' was intended to be the first book in a planned five-volume series, ''America: A Cultural History''. The second volume was to have been ''American Plantations''. *''Paul Revere's Ride'' (1994), Oxford University Press, *'' The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History'' (1996) *''Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement'' (2000), with James C. Kelly, University of Virginia Press, *''

'' (2004) *''Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas'' (2005) *'' Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America'' (2008) *''Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States'' (2012) *'' African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals'' (2022)

References

External links

Image and article about David Fischer and his awards.
* ttp://www.brandeis.edu/facguide/faculty?emplid=e09ad45a0c004f099ecc000d57381495164bdc45 Brandeis University History Department Faculty Pagebr>David Hackett Fischer
biographical sketch at ''Brandeis Magazine''

* ** ttp://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Hack ''In Depth'' interview with Fischer November 7, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, David Hackett 1935 births Living people Historians of the United States Pulitzer Prize for History winners Princeton University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Brandeis University faculty 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History 20th-century American male writers