Brinton, Crane

Brinton, (Clarence) Crane

(1898–1968) historian, teacher; born in Winsted, Conn. Educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities, he became known as a brilliant, cosmopolitan scholar and author as well as a popular teacher at Harvard (1923–68). He worked for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) in London (1942–45) during World War II. An authority on revolutions and a proponent of "intellectual history," his 15 books include The Anatomy of Revolution (1938), A History of Western Morals (1959), and The Americans and the French (1968).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.