[Historian] Biographies & Profiles
Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Ann Gilmour is an American child safety activist and commentator for ABC News. She gained national attention at 14 years old when she was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee. After nine months in captivity, she was rescued by police in Sandy, Utah. Smart has dedicated her life to raising awareness for missing persons and has become the subject of many non-fiction books and films. Her story has inspired many to fight for the safety of children and for victims everywhere.
Edward Jones (harpist)
Edward Jones, commonly known by the bardic name of "Bardd y Brenin", was a Welsh harpist, bard, performer, composer, arranger and collector of music who was born in Llandderfel, near Bala. He is remembered for his three-volume work, the Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards, and for coming to London in 1775, where he was patronised by prominent Welshmen and Charles Burney, and became Harp-Master to the Prince of Wales. In 1805 he moved into the Office of the Robes, St. James's Palace and suffered financial difficulties in his later life, forcing him to sell part of his collection. The remainder of his library was sold at auction the year after his death.
John Elliott (historian)
Sir John Huxtable Elliott (1936-2020) was a renowned British historian, Hispanist and Regius Professor Emeritus at the University of Oxford, as well as an honorary fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He went by the name J.H. Elliott and is renowned for his research on the history of Spain, in particular his studies of the Spanish Golden Age. He wrote more than 20 books, including the acclaimed book 'Imperial Spain 1469-1716'. Elliott was awarded the Wolfson History Prize in 1971 and was a fellow of the British Academy. Elliott’s legacy will be remembered for his contribution to the field of Spanish history.
Annette Gordon-Reed
Annette Gordon-Reed is an American historian and law professor. She is currently at Harvard University, where she is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor, and a professor of history in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. She is noted for her research on Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with Sally Hemings and her children, which resulted in her receiving the Pulitzer Prize for History, the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and 15 other prizes in 2009. Other awards include the National Humanities Medal and a MacArthur Fellowship. She is a Trustee of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the National Humanities Center, and the American Philosophical Society.
John Harvey (historian)
John Hooper Harvey FSA was an English architectural historian, specializing in English Gothic architecture and architects. He is remembered for debunking the myth that the architects of medieval buildings were anonymous, and for pioneering the field of garden history. His extensive use of archival sources, such as Henry Yevele, provided new insight and led him to publish his biographical dictionary of English Mediaeval Architects. Paul Crossley described him as "the most prolific and arguably the most influential writer on Gothic architecture in the post-war years."
John Davies (historian)
John Davies was a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster. He attended university at Cardiff and Cambridge and taught Welsh at Aberystwyth. He wrote a number of books on Welsh history.
David Kahn (writer)
In addition to cryptography, Kahn has also written books on subjects such as the World War II Ultra intelligence program and World War I intelligence work. He is a frequent contributor to publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs. David Kahn is an American historian, journalist, and writer who has written extensively on the history of cryptography and military intelligence. His first book, The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing, is widely considered to be the definitive account of the history of cryptography and he has also written books on topics such as World War II Ultra intelligence program and World War I intelligence work. He is a frequent contributor to many major publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs.
Ronald Takaki
Ronald Takaki was an American academic, historian, ethnographer, and author. He was born in pre-statehood Hawaii, and studied at the College of Wooster and completed his doctorate in American history at UC Berkeley. Takaki wrote about Asian Americans and the model-minority concept in his renowned books, Strangers from a Different Shore and A Different Mirror. He was a professor at UCLA from 1966 to 1971 and UC Berkeley from 1971 to 2003. His work on race, ethnicity, and American history will remain influential and remembered.
Kevin Starr
Kevin Owen Starr was an American historian and California's state librarian. He was best known for his nine-volume series on the history of California, collectively called "Americans and the California Dream". Starr achieved great success in his career, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship, membership in the Society of American Historians and the Gold Medal of the Commonwealth Club of California. In 2006, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush for his work as a scholar and historian. In 2010, he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
David Knowles (scholar)
Michael David Knowles OSB FRHistS was an English Benedictine monk, Catholic priest and historian. He became Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge in 1954. He was a prolific author, with a particular interest in medieval studies and medievalism. His works include "The Monastic Order in England", "The Religious Orders in England" and "The Monastic Constitutions of Lanfranc". He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1937, and was a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law from 1932-1971. He died in 1983, aged 88.
Eric Alterman
Eric Alterman is an American historian, journalist, author, media critic, blogger, and educator. He is a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and has authored eleven books. For 25 years, he wrote "The Liberal Media" column for The Nation, and he is also a contributing writer at The American Prospect. In January 2021, he opened a Substack page called "Altercation" and is accepting free subscriptions while developing publication plans.
Ronald Sørensen
Ronald Sørensen is a Dutch politician, who was a founder of the Livable Rotterdam party. He was also a member of the Dutch Senate for the Party for Freedom between 2011 and 2015. Sørensen is a strong advocate of an open society, which encourages social and economic liberty. He is pro-European, believes that the Netherlands should remain in the European Union and supports the euro. He believes in minimal government, low taxes and an open markets, as well as individual liberty. He also supports a robust and innovative digital economy. Sørensen is committed to fiscal responsibility, fiscal responsibility, which allows Amsterdam to remain a strong and prosperous city.
Jens Gieseke
Jens Gieseke is a German historian. His work is focused on the German Democratic Republic and its Ministry for State Security .
Paul Robeson Jr.
Paul Leroy Robeson Jr. (1919-2020) was an American author, archivist, and historian. He was the son of Paul Robeson, the celebrated actor, singer, lawyer and civil rights activist. After graduating from Howard University, he spent several years in the US Army and worked in government service. He authored several books, including "Here I Stand," a biography of his father, and wrote extensively on African and African-American history. Robeson was a trustee of the Paul Robeson Archives, a repository of his father's papers and artifacts. He spent his retirement years spreading awareness of his father's legacy and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 2020. Robeson was a passionate advocate for civil rights and equality until his death at age 101.
Juanita Brooks
Juanita Pulsipher Brooks was an American historian and author, specializing in the American West and Mormon history. She wrote the book Mountain Meadows Massacre, concerning a massacre linked to her grandfather Dudley Leavitt which caused tension between her and the church authorities. Additionally, she made archival contributions in the form of pioneer diaries documenting early Mormon history in Utah. Although her work surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre caused controversy, she remained a faithful believer throughout her life.
William S. McFeely
William Shields McFeely was an eminent American historian. He won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Ulysses S. Grant. He was also known for advancing African-American history and reevaluating the Reconstruction era. From 1997 until his death he was Abraham Baldwin Emeritus of the Humanities at University of Georgia and affiliated with Harvard University. He passed away in 2006.
Francis Sejersted
Francis Sejersted was a Norwegian historian and professor of social sciences at the University of Oslo. He is most well-known for his time serving as the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1991 until 1995. During his tenure, Sejersted was responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 and to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin in 1994. Sejersted was an advocate of human rights and promoted freedom of speech. He also wrote several books, most notably The Age of Social Democracy, which was published in Norway in 1982. Sejersted was widely respected for his work, and he was bestowed with many honors throughout his career. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 75. Francis Sejersted was a prominent Norwegian professor and chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 1991 to 1995. He was an advocate for human rights and freedom of speech, and wrote several books, most notably The Age of Social Democracy. He also awarded Aung San Suu Kyi and Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and 1994 respectively. A well-respected man, he was honored with many awards during his lifetime before passing away in 2011 at the age of 75.
Jacqueline Jones
Jacqueline Jones is an esteemed American social historian. Having held the Walter Prescott Webb Chair in History and Ideas at the University of Texas at Austin from 2008 to 2017, she currently serves as Mastin Gentry White Professor of Southern History. Her areas of expertise include American social history, economics, race, slavery, and class. Jones has received numerous accolades, including a MacArthur Fellowship, the Bancroft Prize, and twice being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
András Balogh
András Balogh is a prominent Hungarian historian, diplomat, and former ambassador to Thailand. In 2010, he was nominated by the Hungarian Socialist Party for the position of President of Hungary. Despite his nomination, Pál Schmitt from Fidesz-Christian Democratic People's Party was eventually elected by a large majority in the parliamentary election. Balogh is recognized for his contribution to Hungarian politics and diplomacy.