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{{Short description|American historian and author (1909–1979)}}
'''Thomas Harry Williams''' (May 19, 1909 — July 8, 1979) was an American academic and author. For the majority of his academic career between the 1930s to 1970s, Williams taught history at [[Louisiana State University]]. While at LSU, Williams was a Boyd Professor of History from 1953 to 1979. Near the end of his tenure at LSU, the university created the T. Harry Williams Chair of American History. Additional academic institutes Williams taught at include [[extension school|extension schools]], in Wisconsin and at the [[University of Omaha|Municipal University of Omaha]]. ▼
 
▲'''Thomas Harry Williams''' (May 19, 1909 — July 8, 1979) was an American academichistorian and author. For the majority of his academic career between the 1930s to 1970s, Williams taught history at [[Louisiana State University]]. While at LSU, Williams was a Boyd Professor of History from 1953 to 1979. Near the end of his tenure at LSU, the university created the T. Harry Williams Chair of American History. Additional academicHe institutes Williamsalso taught at include [[extension school|extension schools]], in Wisconsin and at the [[University of Omaha|Municipal University of Omaha]].
As an author, Williams wrote biographical works between the 1940s to 1970s. For his works, Williams published multiple books on [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]. He also wrote about [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], the [[American Civil War]] and [[Huey Long]]. In 1970, Williams won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography]] and the [[National Book Award]] in the History and Autobiography category with ''Huey Long''. Apart from his books, Williams received a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 1956.▼
 
▲As an author, Williams wrote biographical works between the 1940s to 1970s. For his works, Williams publishedincluding multiple books on [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]. He also wrote about [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], the [[American Civil War]] and [[Huey Long]]. In 1970, Williams' biography of Long won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography]] and the [[National Book Award]] in the History and Autobiography category with ''Huey Long''. Apart from his books, Williams received a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 1956.
 
Williams received a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 1956.
 
==Early life and education==
Williams was born in [[Vinegar Hill Township, Jo Daviess County, Illinois|Vinegar Hill]], [[Illinois]] on May 19, 1909.<ref name=Brennan1999>{{cite book |last1=Brennan |first1=Elizabeth A. |last2=Clarage |first2=Elizabeth C. |title=Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners |date=1999 |publisher=The Oryx Press |location=Phoenix |isbn=1573561118 |page=37 |url=https://books.google.cacom/books?id=63nvmt4HqTEC&pg=PA37 |access-date=April 11, 2022}}</ref> During hisHe childhood, Williamsgrew livedup in the [[Hazel Green, Wisconsin]] area with his family after the death of his mother.<ref name=Dawson1983>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=T. Harry Williams |encyclopedia=Twentieth-Century American Historians |last=Dawson III |first=Joseph G. |year=1983 |publisher=Detroit |location=Gale Research Company |url=https://archive.org/details/twentiethcentury0017unse/page/432/mode/2up |access-date=May 30, 2022 |editor-last=Wilson |editor-first=Clyde N. |series=Dictionary of Literary Biography |volume=Seventeen |page=432 |isbn=0810311445}}</ref>

In the 1930s, Williams completed his post-secondary education at [[Platteville State Teachers College]] and the [[University of Wisconsin]].<ref name=Evory1981>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Williams, T(homas) Harry 1909-1979 |encyclopedia=Contemporary Authors |publisher=Gale Research Company |location=Detroit |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth03anne/page/600/mode/2up |editor-last=Evory |editor-first=Ann |series=New Revision |volume=3 |page=601 |isbn=0810319322 |year=1981 |access-date=May 28, 2022}}</ref>
 
==Career==
===Teaching===
During his studies at Wisconsin, Williams became an [[teacher|instructor]] in 1936.<ref name=Evory1981/> While teaching history for their [[extension school|extension schools]], Williams was dismissed from his position at [[Wausau, Wisconsin]] in November 1936.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wausau Vets Flay Extension Teacher |work=The Rhinelander Daily News |date=November 13, 1936 |page=2}}</ref> After his dismissal, Williams said his comments about the [[Gettysburg Address]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]] were "misquoted and misrepresented".<ref>{{cite news |title=Dismissed Instructor Gives Reply |work=The Hartford Daily Courant |agency=Associated Press |date=November 14, 1936 |page=8}}</ref> The following month, Williams was given back his' position at Wausau was restored.<ref>{{cite news |title=Instructor Is Upheld By U. Officials |work=The Capital Times |date=December 1, 1936 |page=1}}</ref> In between his extension tenures for Wisconsin, Williams briefly taught in [[West Virginia University]].<ref>Dawson III 1983, p. 433</ref> Williams remained with the extensions until he continued his instructive experience for the [[University of Omaha|Municipal University of Omaha]] in 1938. He had also worked aswas an [[assistant professor]] for Omaha by the time he left in 1941.<ref name=Brennan1999/>
 
In 1941, Williams began his experience at [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU) as a history [[professor]].<ref>{{cite news |title=T. Harry Williams Coming to Millsaps |work=The Clarion-Ledger |date=January 20, 1971 |page=5}}</ref> While at Louisianathere, Williams also taught about the Civil War.<ref>Dawson III 1983, p. 434</ref> He was named a Boyd professor for the university in 1953.<ref>{{cite news |title=Three LSU Profs Are Honored By Boyd Appointments |work=The Daily Herald |agency=Associated Press |date=June 2, 1953 |location=Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi Coast |page=Nine}}</ref> Williams continued to hold the position of Boyd Professor of History for Louisiana State until 1979.<ref name=Brennan1999/> ThatIn May of that year, Williams ended his tenure with Louisiana State in May 1979LSU.<ref>{{cite news |title=T. Harry Williams In Critical Condition |work=The Town Talk |agency=Associated Press |date=June 3, 1979 |page=B-12}}</ref> Outside of the United States, Williams worked in [[England]] from 1966 to 1967.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plain Dealing Locals |work=The Bossier-Banner Progress |date=June 22, 1967 |page=n. p.}}</ref> While with the [[University of Oxford]], Williams worked as Harmsworth Professor of American History.<ref name=Tingley1999>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Williams, Thomas Harry |encyclopedia=American National Biography |last=Tingley |first=Donald F. |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/americannational23garr/page/508/mode/2up |access-date=May 30, 2022 |editor1-last=Garraty |editor1-first=John A. |editor2-last=Carnes |editor2-first=Mark C. |volume=23 |page=509 |isbn=0195128028}}</ref>
 
Outside of the United States, Williams worked in [[England]] from 1966 to 1967.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plain Dealing Locals |work=The Bossier-Banner Progress |date=June 22, 1967 |page=n. p}}</ref> While with the [[University of Oxford]], Williams was Harmsworth Professor of American History.<ref name=Tingley1999>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Williams, Thomas Harry |encyclopedia=American National Biography |last=Tingley |first=Donald F. |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/americannational23garr/page/508/mode/2up |access-date=May 30, 2022 |editor1-last=Garraty |editor1-first=John A. |editor2-last=Carnes |editor2-first=Mark C. |volume=23 |page=509 |isbn=0195128028}}</ref>
===Literature===
While at Louisiana State, Williams released ''Lincoln and the Radicals'' in 1941.<ref>{{cite news |title="Lincoln and the Radicals" |work=The New York Age |date=November 29, 1941 |page=Six}}</ref> In 1950, Williams began a three-decade career with [[Louisiana State University Press]] as their editor for the Southern Biography Series.<ref>{{cite web |title=Books by Series - Southern Biography |url=https://lsupress.org/books/by-series/southern-biography/sort-by/date-asc/ |website=LSU Press |access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref> In 1956, Williams joined the [[Baton Rouge Advocate]] as a book reviewer and remained in his position until 1966.<ref>Dawson III 1983, p. 440</ref> Williams had written three more books about [[Abraham Lincoln]] by 1958, which included two publications about works written by Lincoln.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dr. T. Harry Williams Lectures This Evening |work=The Gettysburg Times |date=November 17, 1958 |page=Seven}}</ref> During this time period, Williams published a biography on [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] in 1955 titled ''Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Paradoxes Of Character Revealed In Biography Of P.G.T. Beauregard |work=The Commercial Appeal |date=April 17, 1955 |location=Memphis |at=sec. V p. 10}}</ref> The following year, Williams used a [[manuscript]] authored by Beauregard to create ''With Beauregard in Mexico: The Mexican Reminiscences of P.G.T. Beauregard'' as an editor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hesseltarie |first1=William B. |title=Gen. Beauregard's Mexican War Notes Edited By Willliams |work=The Jackson Sun |date=April 22, 1956 |page=Three}}</ref> From the 1960s to 1970s, Williams's works continued to focus on American historical events.<ref name=Evory1981/>▼
 
===Works===
For individual historical works, Williams published a 1962 book of collected essays about generals in the [[American Civil War]] called ''McClellan, Sherman, and Grant''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Of Generalship |work=The Progress-Index |date=December 20, 1962 |location=Petersburg-Colonial Heights, Virginia |page=4}}</ref> His book on [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] personnel focused on [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[George B. McClellan]] and [[William T. Sherman]].<ref>{{cite news |title=3 Union Officers Stuided For Character, Generalship |work=The Central New Jersey Home News |date=December 2, 1982 |page=23}}</ref> For a 1963 republication of a work by [[Edward Porter Alexander]], Williams added a [[preface]] to ''Military Memoirs of a Confederate.''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Akers |first1=Merton T. |title=Another Volley of Civil War Books |work=Times Democrat |date=June 23, 1963 |location=Davenport - Bettendorf, Iowa |page=7D}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bradley |first1=Van Allen |title=Gold in Your Attic |work=The Battle Creek Enquirer and News |date=June 12, 1966 |at=sec. 2 p. 3}}</ref> Williams used a diary by [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] to create ''Hayes: The Diary of a President'' in 1964.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nixon |first1=H. C. |title=New Light on Era |work=The Tennessean |date=June 28, 1964 |page=10-F}}</ref> For his work, Williams included historical summaries while keeping any errors that were made in the diary.<ref>{{cite news |title=LSU's Peripatetic Dr. Williams Edits Diary of President Hayes |work=Alexandria Daily Town Talk |date=April 29, 1964 |page=Twenty-Three}}</ref> The following year, Williams wrote solely on Hayes's Army experience with his 1965 publication ''Hayes of the Twenty-Third: The Civil War Volunteer Officer''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Garrett |first1=Wendell D. |title=Civil War Command Of Hayes Evaluated |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 23, 1965 |page=13}}</ref>▼
▲While at Louisiana State, Williams released' ''Lincoln and the Radicals'' was published in 1941.<ref>{{cite news |title="Lincoln and the Radicals" |work=The New York Age |date=November 29, 1941 |page=Six}}</ref> In 1950, Williams began a three-decade career with [[Louisiana State University Press]] as theirthe editor forof thetheir Southern Biography Series.<ref>{{cite web |title=Books by Series -– Southern Biography |url=https://lsupress.org/books/by-series/southern-biography/sort-by/date-asc/ |website=LSU Press |access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref> In 1952, Williams' ''Lincoln and His Generals'' was published. In 1956, Williams joined the ''[[Baton Rouge Advocate]]'' as a book reviewer and remained in his position until 1966.<ref>Dawson III 1983, p. 440</ref> Williams had written three more books about [[Abraham Lincoln]] by 1958, which included two publications about works written by Lincoln.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dr. T. Harry Williams Lectures This Evening |work=The Gettysburg Times |date=November 17, 1958 |page=Seven}}</ref> During this time period, Williams published a biography on [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] in 1955 titled ''Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Paradoxes Of Character Revealed In Biography Of P.G.T. Beauregard |work=The Commercial Appeal |date=April 17, 1955 |location=Memphis |at=sec. V p. 10}}</ref> The following year, Williams used a [[manuscript]] authored by Beauregard to create ''With Beauregard in Mexico: The Mexican Reminiscences of P.G.T. Beauregard'' as an editor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hesseltarie |first1=William B. |title=Gen. Beauregard's Mexican War Notes Edited By Willliams |work=The Jackson Sun |date=April 22, 1956 |page=Three}}</ref> From the 1960s to 1970s, Williams's works continued to focus on American historical events.<ref name=Evory1981/>
 
▲For individual historical works, Williams published a 1962 book of collected essays about generals in the [[American Civil War]] called ''McClellan, Sherman, and Grant''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Of Generalship |work=The Progress-Index |date=December 20, 1962 |location=Petersburg-Colonial Heights, Virginia |page=4}}</ref> HisThis book on [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] personnelgenerals focused on [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[George B. McClellan]] and [[William T. Sherman]].<ref>{{cite news |title=3 Union Officers Stuided For Character, Generalship |work=The Central New Jersey Home News |date=December 2, 1982 |page=23}}</ref> For a 1963 republication of a work by [[Edward Porter Alexander]], Williams added a [[preface]] to ''Military Memoirs of a Confederate.''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Akers |first1=Merton T. |title=Another Volley of Civil War Books |work=Times Democrat |date=June 23, 1963 |location=Davenport -– Bettendorf, Iowa |page=7D}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bradley |first1=Van Allen |title=Gold in Your Attic |work=The Battle Creek Enquirer and News |date=June 12, 1966 |at=sec. 2 p. 3}}</ref> Williams used a diary by [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] to create ''Hayes: The Diary of a President'' in 1964.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nixon |first1=H. C. |title=New Light on Era |work=The Tennessean |date=June 28, 1964 |page=10-F}}</ref> For his work, Williams included historical summaries while keeping any errors that were made in the diary.<ref>{{cite news |title=LSU's Peripatetic Dr. Williams Edits Diary of President Hayes |work=Alexandria Daily Town Talk |date=April 29, 1964 |page=Twenty-Three}}</ref> The following year, Williams wrote solely on Hayes's Army experience with his 1965 publication ''Hayes of the Twenty-Third: The Civil War Volunteer Officer''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Garrett |first1=Wendell D. |title=Civil War Command Of Hayes Evaluated |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 23, 1965 |page=13}}</ref>
Apart from the Civil War, Williams had publications about [[Huey Long]] between the early 1960s to early 1970s.<ref name=Tingley1999/> He had started the writing process for his biography on Long in 1955.<ref>{{cite news |title=Huey Long's Stormy Career Is Under Scrunity by Biographer |work=The Okemah Daily Leader |date=September 21, 1956 |page=Three}}</ref> His Long biography was released in 1969.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lehmann-Haupt |first1=Christopher |title=History of Huey Long |work=The Pocono Record |date=October 31, 1969 |page=Four}}</ref> In 1977, Williams started a book about [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. After Williams conducted research on Johnson in 1979, he died before he could complete his biography.<ref>{{cite news |title=T. Harry Williams Dies |work=Alexandria Daily Town Talk |agency=United Press International |date=July 6, 1979 |page=A-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Author turns to LBJ biography |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |agency=Star-Telegram News Services |date=February 9, 1979 |page=4A}}</ref>▼
 
▲Apart from the Civil War, Williams had publicationswrote about [[Huey Long]] between the early 1960s to early 1970s.<ref name=Tingley1999/> He had started the writing process for histhis biography on Long in 1955.<ref>{{cite news |title=Huey Long's Stormy Career Is Under Scrunity by Biographer |work=The Okemah Daily Leader |date=September 21, 1956 |page=Three}}</ref> His Long biography was releasedpublished in 1969.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lehmann-Haupt |first1=Christopher |title=History of Huey Long |work=The Pocono Record |date=October 31, 1969 |page=Four}}</ref> In 1977, Williams started a book about [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. After Williams conducted research on Johnson in 1979, he died before he could complete his biography.<ref>{{cite news |title=T. Harry Williams Dies |work=Alexandria Daily Town Talk |agency=United Press International |date=July 6, 1979 |page=A-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Author turns to LBJ biography |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |agency=Star-Telegram News Services |date=February 9, 1979 |page=4A}}</ref>
 
==Writing process==
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==Awards and honors==
In 1956, Williams received a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in the U.S. History category.<ref>{{cite web |title=T. Harry Williams |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/t-harry-williams/ |website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |access-date=March 21, 2022}}</ref> With ''Huey Long'', Williams won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography]] in 1970.<ref>{{cite web |title=Huey Long, by T. Harry Williams (Knopf) |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/t-harry-williams |website=The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref> That year, ''Huey Long'' also won the [[National Book Award]] in the History and Autobiography category and the Louisiana Literary Award from the [[Louisiana Library Association]].<ref>{{cite web |title=T. Harry Williams |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/people/t-harry-williams/ |website=National Book Foundation |access-date=March 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Louisiana Literary Award Winners |url=https://llaonline.org/Louisiana-Literary-Award |website=Louisiana Library Association |access-date=May 30, 2022}}</ref> Near the end of his tenure at Louisiana State, the Universityuniversity created the T. Harry Williams Chair of American History in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |title=Honor Asked For Williams |work=The Daily Advertiser |agency=Associated Press |date=March 27, 1979 |location=Lafayette, Louisiana |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=LUS events Honoring T. Harry Williams |work=The Daily Advertiser |date=April 15, 1979 |location=Lafayette, Louisiana |page=59}}</ref> His incomplete work, ''The History of American Works from 1745 to 1918'', was posthumously published in 1981.<ref> Dawson III 1983, p. 447</ref> The 1983 posthumously published book, ''The Selected Essays of T. Harry Williams'', contained both old and new essays written by Williams.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Owens |first1=Harry P. |title=Book Reviews |journal=Louisiana History |date=Autumn 1983 |volume=24 |issue=4 |page=445 |JSTORjstor=4232319}}</ref>
 
==Personal life and death==
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{{PulitzerPrize BiographyorAutobiographyAuthors}}
 
[[Category:Academics1909 of the University of Oxfordbirths]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:West Virginia University faculty]]
[[Category:University of Nebraska Omaha faculty]]
[[Category:Louisiana State University faculty]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners]]
[[Category:National Book Award winners]]
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