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Robert Roswell Palmer

ロバート・ロズウェル・パルマー

Robert Roswell Palmer

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1909-01-11 （Chicago, Illinois, U.S.）
Died
2002-06-11 （Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S.） age 93
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
historian, university professor, author, dean
Active Years
1936-1977
Affiliations
Princeton University, Washington University in St. Louis (Dean of Arts and Sciences), Yale University (professor, professor emeritus), Institute for Advanced Study (guest scholar), University of California, Berkeley (visiting)
Memberships
Society for French Historical Studies (president 1961), American Historical Association (president 1970)
Influenced By
Louis R. Gottschalk, Carl L. Becker, Georges Lefebvre
Influenced
Stanley Palmer (son, historian), Lloyd Kramer (co-author/editor)

Education

University of Chicago
Department of History
Degree: Ph.B.
Period: 1927–1931
Year of Graduation: 1931
Country: United States
Studied with Louis R. Gottschalk
Cornell University
Department of History
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1931–1934
Year of Graduation: 1934
Country: United States
Studied with Carl L. Becker. Dissertation: The French Idea of American Independence on the Eve of the French Revolution (1934)

Awards

Bancroft Prize (in History)
1959
Work: The Challenge (vol. 1 of The Age of the Democratic Revolution)
Organization: American Council of Learned Societies
Result: 受賞
Bancroft Award (Special Prize)
1960
Organization: American Council of Learned Societies
Result: 受賞
Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize (for History)
1990
Organization: Accademia / Feltrinelli Foundation
Result: 受賞
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1958
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result: 選出
Elected to the American Philosophical Society
1959
Organization: American Philosophical Society
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760–1800 — Vol. 1: The Challenge

1959 History (political history, comparative history)

Volume 1, The Challenge, traces how ideas of democracy and equality spread across Europe and America and analyzes their confrontation with aristocratic and authoritarian powers, laying foundations for comparative Atlantic history.

Atlantic Revolutionsdemocracyequalitycomparative history

The Age of the Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760–1800 — Vol. 2: The Struggle

1964 History (political history, comparative history)

Volume 2, The Struggle, details the political struggles of the revolutionary period and examines the consequences of clashes between ideas and social structures.

political struggles of revolutionsocial structuresFrench RevolutionAmerican Revolution

A History of the Modern World

1950 World history (textbook)

A widely used textbook covering world history from the Black Death to the fall of the Soviet Union, notable for clear, essay-like prose and thematic organization; revised across many editions and used widely in colleges and AP courses.

world historyhistory educationoverview

Twelve Who Ruled: The Committee of Public Safety during the Terror

1941 History (collective biography)

A collective biography focused on the twelve leading members of the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror; regarded as one of the seminal American works on the French Revolution.

collective biographyFrench RevolutionReign of Terror

Bibliography

  • The French Idea of American Independence on the Eve of the French Revolution (Ph.D. dissertation, 1934)
  • Catholics and Unbelievers in Eighteenth Century France (1939)
  • Twelve Who Ruled (1941)
  • The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops (with Bell I. Wiley and William R. Keast, 1948)
  • A History of the Modern World (1950)
  • The Age of the Democratic Revolution (1959, 1964)
  • The World of the French Revolution (1971)
  • The Improvement of Humanity: Education and the French Revolution (1985)

Translations by Author

  • Georges Lefebvre, The Coming of the French Revolution, 1789 (translated by Palmer, 1947; orig. 1939)
  • The School of the French Revolution: documentary history of the College of Louis-le-Grand (edited and translated by Palmer, 1975)
  • Louis Bergeron, France Under Napoleon (translated by Palmer, 1981; orig. 1972)
  • Jean-Paul Bertaud, The Army of the French Revolution (translated by Palmer, 1988; orig. 1979)

Translations of Works

  • A History of the Modern World has been translated into six languages and widely used as a college textbook.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, essay-like prosepedagogical and systematic exposition
Recurring Motifs
conflict between ideas (democracy/equality) and social structurescomparative Atlantic perspectivecollective actions of revolutionary leaders

Legacy

R. R. Palmer established foundational comparative work on the Atlantic Revolutions. His textbook A History of the Modern World became widely used in education, and The Age of the Democratic Revolution is regarded as his magnum opus in scholarship.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Philosophical Society
  • Society for French Historical Studies
  • American Historical Association

Archives

  • Library of Congress records (LCCN: n50050274)
  • Princeton University archival materials (memorials, papers)

Quotes

  • Isser Woloch: 'Twelve Who Ruled' may be the best book on the French Revolution written by an American.
    Source: Statement by Isser Woloch (as cited in secondary literature)

Trivia

  • Taught at Princeton University for nearly three decades.
  • Served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (1963–1966).
  • A History of the Modern World was adopted widely and revised through many editions.
  • His son Stanley Palmer became a historian.