Edward Channing

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American historian

title: "Edward Channing" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-historians", "1856-births", "1931-deaths", "american-people-of-english-descent", "pulitzer-prize-for-history-winners", "harvard-college-alumni", "harvard-university-department-of-history-faculty", "historians-of-the-united-states", "presidents-of-the-american-historical-association", "fellows-of-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences", "members-of-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-letters"] description: "American historian" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Channing" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American historian ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox academic"]

FieldValue
honorific_prefix
nameEdward Channing
imageEdward Channing circa 1917.jpg
birth_name
birth_date
birth_placeDorchester, Massachusetts
death_date
death_placeCambridge, Massachusetts
parentsWilliam Ellery Channing (father)
awardsPulitzer Prize (1926)
alma_materHarvard College
influences
disciplineHistorian
sub_disciplineU.S. history
workplacesHarvard University
doctoral_studentsSamuel Flagg Bemis
notable_students
notable_worksHistory of the United States
influenced
signatureSignature of Edward Perkins Channing (1856–1931).png
::

| honorific_prefix = | name = Edward Channing | honorific_suffix = | image = Edward Channing circa 1917.jpg | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Dorchester, Massachusetts | death_date = | death_place = Cambridge, Massachusetts | death_cause = | region = | nationality = | citizenship = | other_names = | occupation = | period = | known_for = | title = | boards = | spouse = | children = | parents = William Ellery Channing (father) | relatives = | awards = Pulitzer Prize (1926) | education = | alma_mater = Harvard College | thesis_title = | thesis_url = | thesis_year = | school_tradition = | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = | influences = | era = | discipline = Historian | sub_discipline = U.S. history | workplaces = Harvard University | doctoral_students = Samuel Flagg Bemis | notable_students = | main_interests = | notable_works = History of the United States | notable_ideas = | influenced = | signature = Signature of Edward Perkins Channing (1856–1931).png | signature_alt = | signature_size = | footnotes = Edward Perkins Channing (June 15, 1856 – January 7, 1931) was an American historian and an author of a monumental History of the United States in six volumes, for which he won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History. His thorough research in printed sources and judicious judgments made the book a standard reference for scholars for decades. Channing taught at Harvard 1883–1929 and trained many PhD's who became professors at major universities.

Life and works

Edward Channing was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the fifth child of Ellen Kilshaw Fuller (1820–1856), a sister of Margaret Fuller, and William Ellery Channing (1818–1901), the poet and walking companion of Henry David Thoreau. Some months after his birth, his mother died, and he was placed out with a shoemaker and his wife in Abington, Mass. Some time around 1860, his paternal grandfather Walter Channing and his daughter took care of him. Young Edward Channing attended a private school and entered Harvard College in autumn 1874. He received his A.B. in 1878, and two years later he received his PhD in history with a thesis on the Louisiana Purchase. In 1880, his grandfather died, leaving an inheritance of $300 (). He undertook a nine-months tour through Europe, which led him also to the Near East and North Africa. After he returned, he wrote geographical articles for Science, for example about the Sudan and geography-instruction at German schools. In 1883, he became an instructor of history at Harvard University and an assistant for professor Charles Cutler Torrey. On July 22, 1886, he married the sister-in-law of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Alice Thacher. They had two daughters.

He died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 7, 1931.

Academic

In 1883, Channing received a prize of $150 for his work "Town and County Government in the English Colonies of North America". This monograph also brought him the membership in the Massachusetts Historical Society and was the basis of the first paper given at the first meeting of the American Historical Association in 1884 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In 1883, Channing published a revised edition (translated by William H. Tillinghast) of An Epitome of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History by German historian Karl Ploetz, adding new sections on English and U.S. history.

In 1887, Channing became assistant professor, in 1897 professor, and in 1912 McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History (one of the oldest professorships for secular history in the United States, once held by Jared Sparks). He retired in 1929.

Channing was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1885. Channing was elected president of the American Historical Association in 1919. In 1921 and 1926 respectively, he received honorary doctorates from Michigan University and Columbia University.

Works

  • The Navigation Laws (1890)
  • The United States of America, 1765–1865 (1896), a textbook. 2nd ed. 1930.
  • A History of the United States Vol. 1: The Planting of a Nation in the New World, 1000–1660 (1905)
  • A History of the United States Vol. 2: A Century of Colonial History, 1660–1760 (1908)
  • A History of the United States Vol. 3: The American Revolution, 1761–1789 (1912)
  • A History of the United States Vol. 4: Federalists and Republicans, 1789–1815
  • A History of the United States Vol. 5: The Period of Transition, 1815–1848 (1921)
  • A History of the United States Vol. 6: The War for Southern Independence, 1849–1865 (1925), 1926 Pulitzer Prize for History
  • A Short History of the United States for School Use, 1908

References

References

  1. (June 11, 2023). "Edward Channing | American historian".
  2. Who was for 33 years Dean of the Harvard Medical School
  3. (1880). "Annual Reports of the President and Treasurer of Harvard College, 1879–1880". University Press: John Wilson and Son.
  4. (1931-01-08). "36-Years' Race Won at Death". [[The Boston Globe]].
  5. "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter C". American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  6. "Deceased Regular Members C". American Academy of Arts and Letters.
  7. [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistc American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]
  8. [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/48057583.pdf www.americanantiquarian.org]
  9. Channing, Edward. (2013-06-13). "The United States of America 1765–1865". Cambridge University Press.
  10. Edward Channing. (1908). "A history of the United States, Volume 1". Macmillan, 1905.
  11. [https://books.google.com/books?id=n7WO9y1RZa4C&dq=edward+channing+1660&pg=PR5 books.google.com]
  12. Channing, Edward. (1912-01-01). "A History of the United States". Macmillan.
  13. Channing, Edward. (1917-01-01). "A History of the United States". Macmillan.
  14. (1922-01-01). "Review of History of the United States. Vol. V". The Journal of Negro History.
  15. Channing, Edward. (1921-01-01). "A History of the United States: The period of transition, 1815–1848". Macmillan.
  16. Muzzey, David Saville. (1925-01-01). "Review of A History of the United States: The War for Southern Independence". Political Science Quarterly.
  17. Channing, Edward. (2004-05-01). "A Short History of the United States for School Use".
  18. Edward Channing. (1902-01-01). "A Student's History of the United States". The Macmillan Company.

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american-historians1856-births1931-deathsamerican-people-of-english-descentpulitzer-prize-for-history-winnersharvard-college-alumniharvard-university-department-of-history-facultyhistorians-of-the-united-statespresidents-of-the-american-historical-associationfellows-of-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciencesmembers-of-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-letters