Bertram Wyatt-Brown
Encyclopedia
Bertram Wyatt-Brown is a noted historian
of the South in the United States. He is the Richard J. Milbauer Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida
, where he taught from 1983-2004; he also taught at Case Western University for nearly two decades. He has studied the role of honor in southern society, in all classes, and has written a family study of the Percy Family, including its twentieth-century authors William Alexander Percy
and Walker Percy
.
, Wyatt-Brown is the son of Laura H. and Hunter Wyatt-Brown, an Episcopal bishop. Following his high school education, Wyatt-Brown matriculated at the University of the South in Tennessee, earning his B.A.
in 1953.
He joined the Armed Services and served from 1953 to 1955, becoming a lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve
. After his military service, he received a second B.A. degree from King's College
at Cambridge University in 1957. Wyatt-Brown earned his Ph.D.
in history at Johns Hopkins University
in 1963, having worked under the supervision of the noted historian of the South, C. Vann Woodward
.
, where he taught from 1983-2004, and Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins University
. He previously taught at Colorado State University
, University of Colorado
, and Case Western Reserve (1966-1983), with special appointments to University of Wisconsin, University of Richmond
, and William and Mary College.
Wyatt-Brown is the author of ten books, and of more than 90 articles, forewords, and essays, and nearly 150 book reviews and essay reviews. He served on the Editorial Advisory Board for Ohio History, the scholarly journal of the Ohio Historical Society, 1978-1986; and was Series editor of the Louisiana State Press' Southern Biography Series. He is a past president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (1994), the St. George Tucker Society (1998-99), and the Southern Historical Association
(2000-01).
He is currently writing Honor and America's Wars: From the Revolution to Iraq. In 1983 Wyatt-Brown was a history finalist for the American Book Award
and the Pulitzer Prize
for his best-known work, Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South (1982), described as a study of the "meaning and expression of the ancient code of honor as whites -- both slaveholders and non-slaveholders -- applied it to their lives."
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of the South in the United States. He is the Richard J. Milbauer Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he taught from 1983-2004; he also taught at Case Western University for nearly two decades. He has studied the role of honor in southern society, in all classes, and has written a family study of the Percy Family, including its twentieth-century authors William Alexander Percy
William Alexander Percy
William Alexander Percy , was a lawyer, planter, and poet from Greenville, Mississippi. His autobiography Lanterns on the Levee became a bestseller. His father LeRoy Percy was the last United States Senator from Mississippi elected by the legislature...
and Walker Percy
Walker Percy
Walker Percy was an American Southern author whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is best known for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, the first of which, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1962...
.
Early life and education
Born in Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, Wyatt-Brown is the son of Laura H. and Hunter Wyatt-Brown, an Episcopal bishop. Following his high school education, Wyatt-Brown matriculated at the University of the South in Tennessee, earning his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1953.
He joined the Armed Services and served from 1953 to 1955, becoming a lieutenant junior grade in the Naval Reserve
Naval Reserve
A Naval Reserve is the reserve body of a nation's Navy, typically called-upon in times of conflict. Naval Reserves include:* La réserve Marine * Royal Naval Reserve * Royal Australian Naval Reserve* Canadian Naval Reserve...
. After his military service, he received a second B.A. degree from King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
at Cambridge University in 1957. Wyatt-Brown earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in history at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in 1963, having worked under the supervision of the noted historian of the South, C. Vann Woodward
C. Vann Woodward
Comer Vann Woodward was a preeminent American historian focusing primarily on the American South and race relations. He was considered, along with Richard Hofstadter and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., to be one of the most influential historians of the postwar era, 1940s-1970s, both by scholars and by...
.
Marriage and family
In 1962 he married Anne Jewett Marbury, whom he met at Johns Hopkins. They have two daughters, Laura and Natalie.Career
Wyatt-Brown is currently the Richard J. Milbauer Professor Emeritus at the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he taught from 1983-2004, and Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. He previously taught at Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
, University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, and Case Western Reserve (1966-1983), with special appointments to University of Wisconsin, University of Richmond
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
, and William and Mary College.
Wyatt-Brown is the author of ten books, and of more than 90 articles, forewords, and essays, and nearly 150 book reviews and essay reviews. He served on the Editorial Advisory Board for Ohio History, the scholarly journal of the Ohio Historical Society, 1978-1986; and was Series editor of the Louisiana State Press' Southern Biography Series. He is a past president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (1994), the St. George Tucker Society (1998-99), and the Southern Historical Association
Southern Historical Association
The Southern Historical Association is an organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States . It was organized on November 2, 1934...
(2000-01).
He is currently writing Honor and America's Wars: From the Revolution to Iraq. In 1983 Wyatt-Brown was a history finalist for the American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
and the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for his best-known work, Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South (1982), described as a study of the "meaning and expression of the ancient code of honor as whites -- both slaveholders and non-slaveholders -- applied it to their lives."
Works
- Lewis Tappan and the Evangelical War against Slavery, Cleveland: Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1969.
- The American People in the Antebellum South, (editor) West Haven, CT: Pendulum Press, 1973.
- Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South, New York: Oxford U Press, 1982.
- Yankee Saints and Southern Sinners, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U Press, 1985.
- Honor and Violence in the Old South, New York: Oxford U Press, 1986.
- The House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy, and Imagination in a Southern Family, New York: Oxford U Press, 1994.
- The Literary Percys: Family History, Gender, and the Southern Imagination, Athens: U of Georgia Press, 1994.
- The Shaping of Southern Culture: Honor, Grace, and War, 1760s-1880s, Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2001.
- Hearts of Darkness: Wellsprings of a Southern Literary Tradition, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State U Press, 2003.
- Virginia’s Civil War, (editor with Peter Wallenstein) Charlottesville: U of Virginia Press, 2004.