Schlesinger, Arthur Meier

Schlesinger, Arthur Meier (shlĕs`ĭnjər), 1888–1965, American historian, b. Xenia, Ohio. After teaching at Ohio State Univ. and the State Univ. of Iowa, he was a professor of history (1924–54) at Harvard and in 1928 became an editor of the New England Quarterly. His well-known works in the field of colonial history include The Colonial Merchants and the American Revolution, 1763–1776 (1918) and Prelude to Independence: The Newspaper War on Britain, 1764–1776 (1958). He is also known for his interest in the interpretation of social history, as in The Rise of the City, 1878–1898 (1933) and Political and Social Growth of the American People, 1865–1940 (1941). His other books include New Viewpoints in American History (1922), essays on American historiography. With Dixon Ryan Fox he edited the "History of American Life" series (13 vol., 1927–48), which remains a valuable examination of U.S. social and cultural life.

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Schlesinger, Arthur Meier (1888–1965) historian; born in Xenia, Ohio. After receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia University (1917), he taught at Ohio State (1912–19) and the University of Iowa (1919–24) before joining the Harvard faculty (1924–54); during his long career he is credited with training more first-rate historians than any other professor of his generation. His main contribution to American historiography was his emphasis on social and cultural aspects of America's history rather than the traditional political, economic, and military elements. Among his many books are New Viewpoints in American History (1922), The Rise of the City, 1878–98 (1933), and The American Reformer (1950). He edited (with Dixon Ryan Fox) the History of American Life (13 vols. 1927–48).