Eric Foner
Birth Name:
Eric Foner
Birth Place:
New York City, New York, United States
Profession
Actor
Fast Facts
- Won the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize in the same year
- Served as the president of three major professional organizations, the Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association and Society of American Historians
- Studied under the supervision of Richard Hofstadter at Columbia University to earn his doctoral degree
- Started college as a physics major, but switched his focus after a year-long seminar on the Civil War and Reconstruction with James P․ Shenton
- Was inspired to study history by his father, a historian and social activist
- Quote: "You cannot understand the United States without knowing about the history of slavery․ Having said that, I don't think we should go too far in drawing parallels to the present․"
- Quote: "[on Lincoln] "He seems like the quintessential American in some ways, and that's why I think every generation takes a new look at him․""
- A prominent historian, he was appointed DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University
- Has published works focusing on the intersection of intellectual, political and social history, as well as the history of race relations in America
- Wrote many books on history, including "Politics and Ideology in the Age of the Civil War" and "The Story of American Freedom․"