McNeil, William H.

William H. McNeill was born on October 31, 1917 in Vancouver, British Columbia to John T. and Netta (Hardy) McNeill. After his family moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1927, McNeill began his long association with the University of Chicago by attending a University of Chicago Laboratory School. He received his B.A. (1938), and M.A. (1939) from the University of Chicago, and completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1947.

McNeill served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1946, spending his last two years of service as assistant military attaché to Greece. He returned to the University of Chicago in 1947, serving as an instructor until 1949. He became an Assistant Professor of history in 1949, Associate Professor in 1955, and Professor in 1957. In 1969, McNeill became the Robert A. Milikan Distinguished Service Professor of History.

McNeill is the author of over twenty-five books, including Europe's Steppe Frontier, 1500-1800 (1964), Venice: The Hinge of Europe, 1081-1797 (1974), Plagues and Peoples (1976), and The Pursuit of Power (1982). In 1964, he won the National Book Award for The Rise of the West (1963). He has also contributed to many anthologies, and written numerous scholarly articles and reviews. During the 1970s, McNeill served as the editor of the Journal of Modern History.

In his work, McNeill consistently explored broad international and global themes, stating that, the "kinds of phenomena that have most interested me run across political boundaries and often transcend governmental initiative or intention."

McNeil married Elizabeth Darbishire in 1946. The couple had four children: Ruth, Deborah, John Robert, and Andrew Duncan.

William H. McNeill is Professor Emeritus at University of Chicago.

From the guide to the McNeill, William H. Papers, 1963-1991, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)