Adams, Henry (1838-1918), was an important American historian. His autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams (privately printed in 1907, published in 1918), won a Pulitzer Prize in 1919. In this book, Adams painted a vivid picture of the increasing sense of disconnectedness, terrifying diversity, and rapid change that many people began to experience in Western society during the 1800’s.
Adams’s greatest contribution to American history was the nine-volume History of the United States (1889-1891). In it, he made extensive use of historical documents to establish sure facts with little personal comment. He thus helped found the “scientific method” of history-writing that developed in the late 1800’s. Adams’s Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (1913) established him as one of the best American writers of medieval history.
Henry Brooks Adams was born on Feb. 16, 1838, in Boston, the son of American diplomat Charles Francis Adams. He was also the grandson of U.S. President John Quincy Adams and the great-grandson of President John Adams. Henry Adams graduated from Harvard University in 1858 and taught history there from 1870 to 1877. He edited the North American Review from 1870 to 1876. Adams also wrote two novels—Democracy (1880) and Esther (1884). He died on March 27, 1918.
