Fehrenbacher, Don E. (Don Edward), 1920-1997

Don Edward Fehrenbacher, professor of history at Stanford (1953-97), was born in Illinois in 1920. He received his B.A. from Cornell College in 1946 and his M.A. (1948) and Ph.D. (1951) from University of Chicago. He won the Pulitzer Prize (1979) for his book on the Dred Scott case. His other awards included a Guggenheim fellowship in 1959-60, a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, 1975-76, and the Lincoln Prize for Civil War studies in 1997. He was the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University, 1967-68, and the Harrison Professor of History at the College of William and Mary, 1973-74. Fehrenbacher was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1984; he continued to lecture and publish during his retirement and was a consultant on Ken Burns' epic film THE CIVIL WAR, which aired in 1990. He died in December 1997.

From the description of Don Edward Fehrenbacher papers, 1928-1997. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122384710

Biography

Don Edward Fehrenbacher, noted Lincoln scholar and winner of the Nobel Prize in history in 1979 for his book The Dred Scott Case, was the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University. He earned his B.A. at Cornell University in 1946 and his graduate degrees at the University of Chicago (M.A. 1948 and Ph.D. 1951). He taught at Coe College in Iowa, 1949 to 1953, before coming to Stanford in 1953.

His awards included a Guggenheim fellowship in 1959-60, a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, 1975-76, and the Lincoln Prize for Civil War studies in 1997. He was the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University, 1967-68, and the Harrison Professor of History at the College of William and Mary, 1973-74.

His other books included Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s, A Basic History of California, and The Era of Expansion 1800-1848. With his Stanford colleague David Potter, he coedited The South and the Concurrent Majority.

Fehrenbacher was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1984; he continued to lecture and publish during his retirement and was a consultant on Ken Burns' epic film The Civil War, which aired in 1990. He died in December 1997.

From the guide to the Don Edward Fehrenbacher Papers, 1928-1997, (Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.)