Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 9 (1994) Winner
David Levering Lewis
デイヴィッド・レヴァリング・ルイス
David Levering Lewis
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1936-05-25 （Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Little Rock, Arkansas → Wilberforce, Ohio → Atlanta, Georgia → Nashville, Tennessee → London, United Kingdom → New York, New York → Landstuhl, Germany
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Professor, Biographer, Editor
- Active Years
- 1956-
- Affiliations
- New York University, Rutgers University, University of California, San Diego, Howard University, University of Notre Dame, Morgan State University, University of the District of Columbia, Harvard University (visiting)
- Memberships
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the American Philosophical Society, Phi Beta Kappa (former senator), Society of American Historians (former president)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fisk University | — | — | BA | 1951–1956 | United States |
| Columbia University | — | History | MA | 1958–1959 | United States |
| London School of Economics | — | Modern European and French history | PhD | 1959–1962 | United Kingdom |
Fisk University
Degree:
BA
Period:
1951–1956
Year of Graduation:
1956
Country:
United States
Entered early at age 15; elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Columbia University
History
Degree:
MA
Period:
1958–1959
Year of Graduation:
1959
Country:
United States
Earned an M.A. in history.
London School of Economics
Modern European and French history
Degree:
PhD
Period:
1959–1962
Year of Graduation:
1962
Country:
United Kingdom
Completed Ph.D. in modern European and French history.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography | W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919 | — | Pulitzer Prize Board (Columbia University) | Winner |
| 2001 | Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography | W. E. B. Du Bois, 1919–1963: The Fight for Equality and the American Century | — | Pulitzer Prize Board (Columbia University) | Winner |
| 2009 | National Humanities Medal | — | — | President of the United States / National Endowment for the Humanities | Winner |
| 1994 | Bancroft Prize | W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919 | — | Columbia University (Bancroft Prize committee) | Winner |
| 1994 | Francis Parkman Prize | W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919 | — | Society of American Historians | Winner |
| 2001 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award | W. E. B. Du Bois, 1919–1963: The Fight for Equality and the American Century | — | Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards committee | Winner |
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
1994
Work:
W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize Board (Columbia University)
Result:
Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
2001
Work:
W. E. B. Du Bois, 1919–1963: The Fight for Equality and the American Century
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize Board (Columbia University)
Result:
Winner
National Humanities Medal
2009
Organization:
President of the United States / National Endowment for the Humanities
Result:
Winner
Bancroft Prize
1994
Work:
W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919
Organization:
Columbia University (Bancroft Prize committee)
Result:
Winner
Francis Parkman Prize
1994
Work:
W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919
Organization:
Society of American Historians
Result:
Winner
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2001
Work:
W. E. B. Du Bois, 1919–1963: The Fight for Equality and the American Century
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards committee
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2 appearances
-
Edition 59 (1994) Winner
-
Edition 66 (2001) Winner
Bancroft Prize
1 appearances
Works
Major Works
W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919
1993 Biography / HistoryFirst volume of a detailed biography tracing the early life and work of W. E. B. Du Bois, examining race in America and Du Bois's intellectual and political development.
Race and civil rightsAfrican American historyPolitical thought
W. E. B. Du Bois, 1919–1963: The Fight for Equality and the American Century
2001 Biography / HistorySecond volume covering Du Bois's later life, public activities, and international outlook amid twentieth-century social change. Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize.
Civil rightsInternationalismRole of the intellectual
King: A Biography
1970 Biography / HistoryAn early scholarly biography of Martin Luther King Jr., analyzing his role in the civil rights movement within the context of struggle and reform.
Civil rights movementLeadership
When Harlem Was in Vogue
1981 Cultural history / Social historyA study of the cultural flowering of the Harlem Renaissance and its social contexts.
Cultural historyAfrican American expression
The Race to Fashoda
1987 Colonial history / Comparative historyA comparative history of European colonialism and African resistance during the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century.
ColonialismAfrican historyInternational relations
God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570–1215
2008 Religious history / Cultural historyA historical study exploring the rise of Islam and its influence on the making of medieval Europe.
Religious historyMedieval historyCultural exchange
The Improbable Wendell Willkie
2018 Biography / Political historyA biography of Wendell Willkie, examining his life and political influence.
Political historyLeadership
The Stained Glass Window: A Family History as the American Story, 1790–1958
2025 Family history / Social historyA recent work tracing American history through the lens of a family history.
Family historyAmerican history
Bibliography
- King: A Biography
- Prisoners of Honor: The Dreyfus Affair
- District of Columbia: A Bicentennial History
- The Race to Fashoda
- The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader (ed.)
- W. E. B. Du Bois: A Reader (ed.)
- When Harlem Was in Vogue
- W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919
- W. E. B. Du Bois, 1919–1963: The Fight for Equality and the American Century
- The Race to Fashoda
- A Small Nation of People (with Deborah Willis)
- God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570–1215
- W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography
- The Improbable Wendell Willkie
- The Stained Glass Window: A Family History as the American Story, 1790–1958
Adaptations
- Appearances in PBS documentaries (e.g. New York: A Documentary Film)
- Appearance in PBS's The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Scholarly and narrative biographical styleComparative-historical approachExtensive use of primary sources
- Recurring Motifs
- Race and citizenshipAfrican and African-American historyPublic role of intellectuals
Legacy
David Levering Lewis is best known for his definitive two-volume biography of W. E. B. Du Bois and for being the first author to win Pulitzer Prizes for biography for two successive volumes on the same subject. He has had a major impact on twentieth-century U.S. social history and civil rights scholarship and is widely respected in academic and public arenas.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- American Philosophical Society
- Society of American Historians
In Popular Culture
- Appearances and commentary in PBS documentaries
Trivia
- First author to win Pulitzer Prizes for biography for two successive volumes on the same subject.
- Entered Fisk University at age 15 and graduated in 1956.
- Recipient of numerous honorary degrees (e.g., Harvard, Columbia).