John Richard Alden

John Richard Alden (23 January 1908, Grand Rapids, Michigan – 14 August 1991, Clearwater, Florida) was an American historian and author of a number of books on the era of the American Revolutionary War.[1]

Biography[edit]

Alden graduated from the University of Michigan with A.B. in 1929), M.A. in 1930, and Ph.D. in 1939.[2] After teaching at Michigan State Normal College (now called Eastern Michigan University), and subsequently at Bowling Green State University in Ohio,[1] he taught at the University of Nebraska from 1945 to 1955. He joined the faculty of Duke University in 1955, where he chaired the Department of History from 1957 to 1960, and in 1963 was appointed James B. Duke Professor of History.[2] He retired from Duke University in 1976.[1] He also taught at the University of Chicago and Columbia University.[2] He was a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review.[3]

In 1934, Alden married Pearl B. Wells (1906–1979). In 1980 he married Kathleen C. Smith, who died in 1990. Upon his death in 1991 he was survived by a daughter from his first marriage and by a granddaughter.[1]

Awards and honors[edit]

  • 1945 — Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association
  • 1955 — Guggenheim Fellowship for the academic year 1955–1956[4]
  • 1960 — Commonwealth Fund Lecturer at University College, London[2]
  • 1960 — Donald Fleming Lecturer (23rd Series) at Louisiana State University[5][6]
  • 1979 — festschrift published as The Revolutionary War in the South—Power, Conflict, and Leadership: Essays in Honor of John Richard Alden[7]

Selected publications[edit]

  • John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1944.[8][9][10]
  • General Gage in America. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. 1948.[11]
  • General Charles Lee: Traitor or Patriot?. Louisiana State University Press. 1951.[12]
  • The American Revolution, 1775–1783. New York: Harper & Bros. 1954.[13]
  • The South in the Revolution, 1763--1789. Volume 3, A History of the South. Louisiana State University Press. October 1957. ISBN 9780807100035.[14]
  • Pioneer America. New York: Knopf. 1966.[15]
  • The First South. Louisiana State University Press. 1968.[16]
  • A History of the American Revolution. New York: Knopf. 1969.[17]
  • Robert Dinwiddie: Servant of the Crown. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 1973. ISBN 978-0-87935-002-4.[18]
  • Stephen Sayre: American Revolutionary Adventurer. Louisiana State University Press. 1983.[19]
  • George Washington: A Biography. Louisiana State University Press. 1984. ISBN 9780807141083.[20][21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Pace, Eric (September 11, 1991). "Obituary. John Richard Alden, 83, Author and American Revolution Expert". The New York Times. p. 12, Section B.
  2. ^ a b c d "John R. Alden". Penguin Random House.
  3. ^ Higginbotham, Don (2005). Revolution in America: Considerations & Comparisons. University of Virginia Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8139-2384-0.
  4. ^ "John R. Alden". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.
  5. ^ "Fleming Lecture Series". Louisiana State University Department of History.
  6. ^ Noggle, Burl (1 October 1992). The Fleming Lectures, 1937--1990: A Historiographical Essay. LSU Press. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-0-8071-1780-4.
  7. ^ Higgins, William Robert, ed. (1979). The Revolutionary War in the South--power, conflict, and leadership: essays in honor of John Richard Alden. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-0403-6.
  8. ^ Billington, Ray Allen (1945). "Review of John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier. By John Richard Alden". The Journal of Economic History. 5: 114–115. doi:10.1017/S0022050700112616.
  9. ^ Carter, Clarence E. (1945). "Review of John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier: A Study of Indian Relations, War, Trade, and Land Problems in the Southern Wilderness, 1754–1775. By John Richard Alden". The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/50.3.545.
  10. ^ Siebert, Wilbur H. (1946). "Reviewed work: John Stuart and the Southern Colonial Frontier, by John Richard Alden". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 25 (1): 100–102. JSTOR 30138623.
  11. ^ Carter, Clarence E. (1949). "Review of General Gage in America: Being Principally a History of his Role in the American Revolution. By John Richard Alden". The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/54.2.370.
  12. ^ Willcox, William B. (1952). "Review of General Charles Lee: Traitor or Patriot? By John Richard Alden". The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/57.2.462.
  13. ^ Heffernan, John B. (1955). "Review of The American Revolution, 1775-1783 by John Richard Alden". Catholic Historical Review. 40 (4): 470.
  14. ^ Walsh, Richard (1958). "Review of The South in the Revolution. 1763-1789 by John Richard Alden". Catholic Historical Review. 44 (3): 368.
  15. ^ "Review of Pioneer America by John R. Alden". Kirkus Reviews. 15 June 1966.
  16. ^ Main, Jackson T. (1962). "Review of The First South". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 48 (4): 696. doi:10.2307/1893156. ISSN 0161-391X. JSTOR 1893156.
  17. ^ Knepper, George W. (1969). "Review of A History of the American Revolution". The Journal of American History. 56 (2): 351. doi:10.2307/1908133. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 1908133.
  18. ^ Sosin, Jack (1975). "Review of Robert Dinwiddie: Servant of the Crown". The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/80.3.716.
  19. ^ Akers, Charles W. (1984). "Review of Stephen Sayre: American Revolutionary Adventurer". The Journal of American History. 71 (2): 380. doi:10.2307/1901773. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 1901773.
  20. ^ "Review of George Washington: A Biography by John R. Alden". Kirkus Reviews. 15 April 1984.
  21. ^ Land, Aubrey C. (1985). "Reviewed work: George Washington, A Biography by John R. Alden". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 64 (2): 199–201. JSTOR 30146662.

External links[edit]