Historians
12 people, across 3 fields.
W.E.B. Du Bois 1868–1963Scholars & Public IntellectualsSociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who was the first African American to earn a Harvard doctorate.
David McCullough 1933–2022Scholars & Public IntellectualsNarrative historian of Truman, John Adams and the Brooklyn Bridge
Howard Zinn 1922–2010EducationHistorian and Boston University professor whose A People's History of the United States reshaped historical narratives.
Washington Irving 1783–1859Literature & DramaEarly American storyteller whose Sketch Book gave the country Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. 1917–2007Scholars & Public IntellectualsHistorian of American liberalism and special assistant to John F. KennedyRichard Hofstadter 1916–1970Scholars & Public IntellectualsHistorian who named the paranoid style in American politics and won two Pulitzer Prizes, for The Age of Reform and Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.
Frederick Jackson Turner 1861–1932Scholars & Public IntellectualsThe frontier thesis — the most influential and most attacked argument in American history.
Carter G. Woodson 1875–1950Scholars & Public IntellectualsFounder of Negro History Week and the Journal of Negro History
Henry Louis Gates Jr. b. 1950Scholars & Public IntellectualsLiterary critic and Harvard professor who has shaped African American studies and popularized genealogy.
George F. Kennan 1904–2005Political Leaders & StatecraftDiplomat whose Long Telegram and containment doctrine framed American Cold War strategy.
Studs Terkel 1912–2008Literature & DramaOral historian and Chicago broadcaster who recorded working Americans in book-length interview collections.
Diane Ravitch b. 1938EducationHistorian of education and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who shaped national education policy debates.