David McCullough
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author David McCullough will speak Tuesday, April 16, at the University of Wyoming. His talk is free and open to the public.
McCullough’s presentation, “Leadership and the History You Don’t Know,” is at 1:30 p.m. in the UW College of Arts and Sciences auditorium. The lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session hosted by former U.S. Sen. Alan K. Simpson.
His presentation, part of the UW Libraries Development Board’s annual author event, is funded by the McMurry-Spieles Endowment for Library Excellence.
Those attending the presentation are encouraged to arrive early to allow time for parking and seating. UW Transit and Parking Services will provide complimentary parking on campus starting at noon in select areas, and free shuttle service on the afternoon of the event.
McCullough has been widely acclaimed as a “master of the art of narrative history” and a “matchless writer.” He won Pulitzer Prizes for his presidential biographies, “Truman” in 1993 and “John Adams” in 2002. He also has received two National Book Award citations for “The Path Between the Seas” in 1978 and in 1982 for “Mornings on Horseback.” His book, “John Adams,” was turned into an award-winning HBO seven-part mini-series.
McCullough, in 2006, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the nation’s highest civilian award.
He won two of the prestigious Francis Parkman Prizes, and has received both the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award and the National Humanities Medal. McCullough has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. and he has received 47 honorary degrees.
His most recent book, the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, “The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris,” has been called “dazzling” and “an epic of ideas, history to be savored.” His previous work, “1776,” has been acclaimed “a classic,” while “John Adams” remains one of the most praised and widely read American biographies of all time. More than 3 million copies are in print, and it is now in its 82nd printing.
His work has been translated and published in 15 countries, and more than 10 million copies are in print. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher and lecturer, a familiar presence on public television as host of “Smithsonian World” and “The American Experience,” and narrator of numerous documentaries, including Ken Burns’ “The Civil War.” He also narrated the movie “Seabiscuit.”
A gifted speaker, McCullough has lectured all over the world, including at the White House, and is one of the few private citizens to speak before a joint session of Congress.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, McCullough graduated with honors from Yale University in English literature. He is an avid reader, traveler and painter, and has a lifelong interest in art and architecture. He and his wife, Rosalee Barnes McCullough, have five children and 19 grandchildren.
For more information about McCullough’s presentation, call the University Libraries at (307) 766-3279 or email UWLibGive@uwyo.edu.
