In his introduction, Carl Sandburg, the poet and Lincoln biographer, hailed Donald's first book as the answer to scholars' prayers: 'When is someone going to do the life of Bill Herndon. In 2000, Donald received The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement. ĭonald was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2008 in the area of Communications and Education. He also received several honorary degrees.ĭonald received the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award in 1997. He specialized in the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods, and in the history of the American South.ĭonald received the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography twice, in 1961 for Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War and in 1988 for Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe. He wrote more than thirty books, including well-received biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Wolfe and Charles Sumner.

ĭonald was the Charles Warren Professor of American History ( emeritus from 1991) at Harvard University. Donald also served on the editorial board for the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. John.ĭonald served as president of the Southern Historical Association. Cooper, Jr., Michael Holt, Irwin Unger, Ari Hoogenboom, and Richard R. At Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Harvard he trained dozens of graduate students, including Heather Cox Richardson, Jean H.

He also taught at Smith College, the University of North Wales (on a Fulbright grant), Princeton University, University College London and served as Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University. Īfter completing his doctorate, Donald taught at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University and, from 1973, Harvard University. Donald adapted and published the dissertation as his first book, Lincoln's Herndon (1948). He encouraged his protégé to write his dissertation on Abraham Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon. Randall as a mentor influenced Donald's life and career. After earning a master's degree in history (1942) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he earned his PhD in 1946 under eminent Lincoln scholar James G. Majoring in history and sociology, Donald earned his bachelor's degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. The county's western border is formed by the Yazoo River and it is part of the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta. He twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography for earlier works he published more than 30 books on United States political and literary figures and the history of the American South.ĭavid Herbert Donald was born in Goodman, Mississippi, a town in the center of Holmes County. Two Pulitzer Prizes for biography, and 1995 biography of Abraham Lincolnĭavid Herbert Donald (Octo– May 17, 2009) was an American historian, best known for his 1995 biography of Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln herbert donald