David Bushnell (historian)
Encyclopedia
David Bushnell was an American
academic and Latin America
n historian
who has been called "The Father of the Colombia
ns." Bushnell, one of the first Americans to study Colombia
, was considered one of the world's leading experts on the history of Colombia
. He regarded it as one of the least studied countries in Latin America by academic scholars in the United States
and Europe
, and was considered the first American historian to study and introduce Colombian history as an academic field in the United States.
. He obtained a bachelor of arts
degree from Harvard University
. After graduation, Bushnell worked for both the Latin American Division of the Office of Strategic Services
and the United States State Department from 1944 to 1946.
From 1956 to 1963, Bushnell worked as a United States Air Force
historian based in Washington D.C. and New Mexico
. He co-authored Space Biology for the U.S. Air Force, which chronicled high-altitude experiments which experts designed to launch people into outer space during the early years of the space program. He also oversaw the creation of am official written history of NASA
and served on the NASA Historical Advisory Program during this period.
Bushnell first visited Colombia
as a doctoral student in 1948. He completed his doctorate at Harvard University in 1951 by writing his thesis
on the government of Francisco de Paula Santander
. Bushnell would ultimately become one of the world's foremost experts on the history of modern Colombia during his career.
Bushnell worked as a professor and academic at the University of Delaware
and the University of Florida
. He taught at the University of Florida from 1963, when he left the U.S. Air Force, until his retirement in 1991. He remained a professor emeritus at the University of Florida and co-founded the Friends of the University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies in March 2005. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the Hispanic American Historical Review from 1986 to 1991.
and then translated into English
. The book became mandatory reading for scholars and students of Colombian history and politics
.
His other major works included The Santander Regime in Gran Colombia
, The Emergence of Latin America, and Eduardo Santos
and the good neighbor. His books dealt with such subjects as the Colombian electoral system during the 19th century and foreign relations
during the government of former President
Eduardo Santos
, who ruled from 1938 to 1942. He published his last article, Philatelic Feminism: The Portrayal of Women on Stamp
s of Argentina
, Colombia, Cuba
, and the United States, shortly before his death in 2010.
Bushnell made his last visit to Colombia in April 2010, where he took part in the Alfonso López Pumarejo
Forum held at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Bushnell died of cancer in Miami on September 3, 2010, at age 86. He had been scheduled to receive an honorary degree from National University of Colombia on September 24, 2010, at the time of his death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n historian
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...
who has been called "The Father of the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
ns." Bushnell, one of the first Americans to study Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, was considered one of the world's leading experts on the history of Colombia
History of Colombia
This article deals with the history of Colombia, a country in South America.-Pre-Colombian period:Approximately 10,000 years BC hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá , and they traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River valley...
. He regarded it as one of the least studied countries in Latin America by academic scholars in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and was considered the first American historian to study and introduce Colombian history as an academic field in the United States.
Early life
Bushnell was born on May 14, 1923 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He obtained a bachelor of arts
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...
degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. After graduation, Bushnell worked for both the Latin American Division of the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
and the United States State Department from 1944 to 1946.
From 1956 to 1963, Bushnell worked as a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
historian based in Washington D.C. and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. He co-authored Space Biology for the U.S. Air Force, which chronicled high-altitude experiments which experts designed to launch people into outer space during the early years of the space program. He also oversaw the creation of am official written history of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and served on the NASA Historical Advisory Program during this period.
Bushnell first visited Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
as a doctoral student in 1948. He completed his doctorate at Harvard University in 1951 by writing his thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
on the government of Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco de Paula Santander
Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña , was a Colombian military and political leader during the 1810–1819 independence war of the United Provinces of New Granada...
. Bushnell would ultimately become one of the world's foremost experts on the history of modern Colombia during his career.
Bushnell worked as a professor and academic at the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
and 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...
. He taught at the University of Florida from 1963, when he left the U.S. Air Force, until his retirement in 1991. He remained a professor emeritus at the University of Florida and co-founded the Friends of the University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies in March 2005. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the Hispanic American Historical Review from 1986 to 1991.
Colombia historian
In 1993, Bushnell published his most widely read work on Colombian history, "The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself", which was published in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and then translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The book became mandatory reading for scholars and students of Colombian history and politics
Politics of Colombia
The Politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
.
His other major works included The Santander Regime in Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
, The Emergence of Latin America, and Eduardo Santos
Eduardo Santos
Eduardo Santos Montejo was a leading Colombian publisher and politician, active in the Colombian Liberal Party. He owned the prominent Bogotá newspaper El Tiempo, and served as the President of Colombia from August 1938 to August 1942.Santos was close friends with the Venezuelan Ambassador in...
and the good neighbor. His books dealt with such subjects as the Colombian electoral system during the 19th century and foreign relations
Foreign relations
Foreign relations refers to the ongoing management of relationships between a public policy administrative organisation of a state and other entities external to its authority or influence...
during the government of former President
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
Eduardo Santos
Eduardo Santos
Eduardo Santos Montejo was a leading Colombian publisher and politician, active in the Colombian Liberal Party. He owned the prominent Bogotá newspaper El Tiempo, and served as the President of Colombia from August 1938 to August 1942.Santos was close friends with the Venezuelan Ambassador in...
, who ruled from 1938 to 1942. He published his last article, Philatelic Feminism: The Portrayal of Women on Stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Colombia, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and the United States, shortly before his death in 2010.
Bushnell made his last visit to Colombia in April 2010, where he took part in the Alfonso López Pumarejo
Alfonso López Pumarejo
Alfonso López Pumarejo was a two-time Colombian president and political figure, as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He served as president of Colombia for the first time between 1934 and 1938 and again between 1942 and 1945....
Forum held at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Bushnell died of cancer in Miami on September 3, 2010, at age 86. He had been scheduled to receive an honorary degree from National University of Colombia on September 24, 2010, at the time of his death.