Freeman, Douglas Southall (1886-1953), a United States historian and editor, became a leading authority on the history of the Confederacy. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1935 for R. E. Lee (1934). He also shared a Pulitzer Prize with John A. Carroll and Mary W. Ashworth for the seven-volume George Washington (1948-1957). Many historians consider this work the most authoritative Washington biography. Freeman also wrote Virginia—A Gentle Dominion (1924); The South to Posterity (1939); and Lee’s Lieutenants (1942-1944), which was published in three volumes.
Freeman was born on May 16, 1886, in Lynchburg, Virginia, the son of a Confederate veteran. He graduated from Richmond College and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Freeman served as editor of the Richmond (Virginia) News Leader from 1915 to 1949. He also worked as a radio commentator from 1925 until his death on June 13, 1953.
