David Herbert Donald
A towering historian of the American Civil War era who won dual Pulitzers for his deeply researched, elegantly written biographies.
1920–2009 (age 89)·American historian·Birthday: October 1·The Greatest Generation
Biography
David Herbert Donald grew up in Mississippi, steeped in the very history he would later dissect with peerless clarity. A student of the great James G. Randall, Donald became a master of the biographical form, dedicating his career to illuminating the figures who shaped 19th-century America. His work was defined by exhaustive archival research and a narrative style that was authoritative yet accessible. While he wrote definitive studies of figures like Charles Sumner and Thomas Wolfe, his monumental 1995 biography of Abraham Lincoln became his signature work, a penetrating portrait that aimed to understand Lincoln 'as he understood himself.' Donald trained a generation of scholars, insisting that true history is found in the details of human experience.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
David was born in 1920, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1920
#1 Movie
Way Down East
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1920Born
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1925Started school
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1933Became a teenager
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1936Could drive
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1938Could vote
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1941Turned 21
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1950Turned 30
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 40
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1970Turned 50
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 60
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 70
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 80
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2009Died at 89
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
Key Achievements
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography twice, for 'Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War' (1961) and 'Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe' (1987).
- Authored the widely praised and best-selling biography 'Lincoln' (1995), a landmark single-volume study of the 16th president.
- Served as the Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard University, mentoring numerous prominent historians.
- Published over thirty books that shaped the scholarly understanding of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.
Did You Know?
He was a direct descendant of a Confederate soldier who fought at the Battle of Vicksburg.
His biography of Lincoln deliberately avoided psychoanalysis, focusing instead on Lincoln's own words and actions.
He turned down an offer to become the editor of the papers of Woodrow Wilson to focus on his Lincoln research.
“The biographer's task is to penetrate the mask, to discover the human being behind the public figure.”
