Gary B. Nash
Encyclopedia
Gary Baring Nash is an American
historian
.
Nash was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and attended Princeton University
(BA 1955, PhD 1964). He served in the U.S. Navy from 1955-58 on the John W. Weeks (DD-701), where he was antisubmarine officer and then gunnery officer. After serving as Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School (1959-62) and completing his doctoral program, he joined the faculty of Princeton as an instructor in 1964 and an assistant professor in 1965-66. He moved to the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA), where he was an assistant professor, 1966-68; associate professor, 1969-72, and full professor from 1972 to the present. He was Dean of the Council for Educational Development from 1980 to 1984 and Dean of Undergraduate and Intercollege Curricular Development at UCLA from 1984 to 1991.
Nash co-directed the construction of the National History Standards in U.S. and World History from 1992-94, when they were published by the National Center for History in the Schools
(NCHS), where he served as Associate Director from 1988-94. He became the Director of NCHS in 1994 and oversaw the revision of the National History Standards published in 1996.
Nash served as president of the Organization of American Historians
in 1994-95 and was on the OAH Executive Board from 1988 to 1991 and 1992 to 1998. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the American Antiquarian Society
, the American Philosophical Society
, and the Society of American Historians. He has served on the History Advisory Council of the College Board (2005-08), the Executive Board of the National Council for History Education (1990-2004), the Advisory Committee of the Skirball Institute on American Values (1988-2003), the National Advisory Council of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
since 2004. In 2008-09, he served as a member of the Second Century National Park Service Commission.
Nash is married to Cynthia J. Shelton. He has four children and nine grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
.
Nash was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, 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,...
and attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(BA 1955, PhD 1964). He served in the U.S. Navy from 1955-58 on the John W. Weeks (DD-701), where he was antisubmarine officer and then gunnery officer. After serving as Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School (1959-62) and completing his doctoral program, he joined the faculty of Princeton as an instructor in 1964 and an assistant professor in 1965-66. He moved to the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA), where he was an assistant professor, 1966-68; associate professor, 1969-72, and full professor from 1972 to the present. He was Dean of the Council for Educational Development from 1980 to 1984 and Dean of Undergraduate and Intercollege Curricular Development at UCLA from 1984 to 1991.
Nash co-directed the construction of the National History Standards in U.S. and World History from 1992-94, when they were published by the National Center for History in the Schools
National Center for History in the Schools
National Center for History in the Schools is most known for the development of the National History Standards and Historical Thinking Standards used throughout the United States...
(NCHS), where he served as Associate Director from 1988-94. He became the Director of NCHS in 1994 and oversaw the revision of the National History Standards published in 1996.
Nash served as president of the Organization of American Historians
Organization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...
in 1994-95 and was on the OAH Executive Board from 1988 to 1991 and 1992 to 1998. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society , located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and national research library of pre-twentieth century American History and culture. Its main building, known also as Antiquarian Hall, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark...
, the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, and the Society of American Historians. He has served on the History Advisory Council of the College Board (2005-08), the Executive Board of the National Council for History Education (1990-2004), the Advisory Committee of the Skirball Institute on American Values (1988-2003), the National Advisory Council of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...
since 2004. In 2008-09, he served as a member of the Second Century National Park Service Commission.
Nash is married to Cynthia J. Shelton. He has four children and nine grandchildren.
Works
In addition to many books he has authored, co-authored, or co-edited, Nash has made chapter contributions to more than thirty books, has published forty-five articles and over eighty book reviews, op-ed essays, and comments. His article "Poverty and Poor Relief in Pre-Revolutionary Philadelphia" (William and Mary Quarterly, Jan. 1976) won the Daughters of Colonial Wars' prize for the best article in that publication for 1976.As author
- Quakers and Politics: Pennsylvania, 1681-1726 (1968)
- Class and Society in Early America (1970)
- Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early America (1974)
- The Private Side of American History: Readings in Everyday Life (1975)
- The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness and the Origins of the American Revolution (1979)
- Race, Class and Politics: Essays on American Colonial and Revolutionary Society (1986)
- Forging Freedom: The Formation of Philadelphia's Black Community, 1720-1840 (1988)
- Race and Revolution: The Inaugural Merrill Jensen Lectures (1990)
- American Odyssey: The United States in the Twentieth Century (1991)
- Forbidden Love: The Hidden History of Mixed-Race America (1999; 2010)
- First City: Philadelphia and the Forging of Historical Memory (2001)
- The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America (2005)
- The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution (2006)
As co-author
- The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society (1986)
- Retracing the Past: Readings in the History of the American People (1986) (2 volumes)
- Freedom by Degrees: Emancipation and Its Aftermath in Pennsylvania, 1690-1840 (1991)
- History on Trial: National Identity, Culture Wars, and the Teaching of the Past (1997)
- Friends of Liberty: A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and A Tragic Betrayal of Freedom in the new Nation (2008)
As co-editor
- The Great Fear: Race in The Mind of America (1970)
- Struggle and Survival in Colonial America (1981)
- Lessons From History: Essential Understandings and Historical Perspectives Students Should Acquire (1992)
- Empire, Society, and Labor: Essays in Honor of Richard S. Dunn (1997)
External links
- Faculty homepage at UCLA
- About Gary Nash National Center for History in the Schools