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David Hackett Fischer

デイヴィッド・ハケット・フィッシャー

David Hackett Fischer

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-12-02 （Baltimore, Maryland, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Baltimore, Maryland → Waltham, Massachusetts — affiliated with Brandeis University

Career

Occupations
historian, university professor, author
Active Years
1962-
Affiliations
Brandeis University (University Professor of History Emeritus), College of the Atlantic (board member)
Memberships
The Society of the Cincinnati (honorary member)

Education

Princeton University
History
Degree: A.B.
Period: 1954–1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: United States
Johns Hopkins University
History
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1958–1962
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: United States

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for History
2005
Work: Washington's Crossing
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Nonfiction)
2004
Work: Washington's Crossing
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 最終候補（ファイナリスト）
Irving Kristol Award
2006
Organization: American Enterprise Institute
Result: 受賞
Cundill Prize
2009
Work: Champlain's Dream
Organization: Cundill Prize
Result: 最終候補・準優勝
Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing
2015
Category: 生涯業績
Organization: Pritzker Literature Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Carnegie Prize / Massachusetts Professor of the Year
1990
Organization: Carnegie Council
Result: 受賞
Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching
Organization: Brandeis University
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought

1970 History / Historiography

A methodological work that identifies and analyzes common logical errors in historical writing and interpretation, coining the term 'historian's fallacy.'

historiographylogical fallacies in history

Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

1989 Cultural history / Folklore

Argues that core aspects of American culture derive from four British folkways and analyzes how regional cultures shaped U.S. political and social development.

cultural formationmigration historyregionalism

Paul Revere's Ride

1994 Narrative history

A detailed reconstruction of Paul Revere's famed ride, examining the event's historical context and disentangling legend from fact.

Revolutionary historymemory and myth

The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History

1996 Economic history

Analyzes long-term price revolutions and their social and political consequences across history.

price revolutionslong-term history

Washington's Crossing

2004 Military history / Narrative history

A detailed narrative of George Washington's leadership of the Continental Army during the winter of 1776–1777, reconstructing decisive moments of the American Revolution.

leadership in warAmerican Revolution

Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America

2008 Biography / Colonial history

A biographical study of Samuel de Champlain and his role in the European founding of North America, especially Quebec City.

explorationcolonization

Bibliography

  • Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought (1970)
  • The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy (1976)
  • Growing Old in America (1977)
  • Concord: The Social History of a New England Town 1750–1850 (ed., 1984)
  • Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (1989)
  • Paul Revere's Ride (1994)
  • The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History (1996)
  • Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement (2000) — with James C. Kelly
  • Washington's Crossing (2004)
  • Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas (2005)
  • Champlain's Dream (2008)
  • Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies (2012)
  • African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals (2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
detailed narrative stylecomparative cultural-historical approacharchival, evidence-based scholarship
Recurring Motifs
cultural transmission and regional differencesleadership and decisive momentslong-term effects of economic change

Legacy

David Hackett Fischer is an influential historian of American cultural, military, and historiographical topics. Through works such as Albion's Seed and Washington's Crossing he has been widely recognized by both scholars and general readers; his long teaching career at Brandeis and contributions to historical method are also notable.

Academic Societies

  • American Historical Association

Archives

  • Brandeis University Special Collections (possible repository of papers)

Trivia

  • Popularized the term 'historian's fallacy.'
  • Taught at Brandeis University for over 50 years and known for dedication to students.
  • Won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for History for Washington's Crossing.
  • Received the 2015 Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.