Catton, Bruce

Related Category: Historians, U.S.: Biographies

1899–1978, American historian, b. Petoskey, Mich. He studied at Oberlin College and then entered upon a varied career as a journalist (1926–42) and public official (1942–52). His service with the War Production Board during World War II led to his first major book, The War Lords of Washington (1948). After 1952 he devoted himself to full-time literary work, serving as an editor from 1954 (senior editor, 1959) of the American Heritage magazine. In 1954 he received the Pulitzer Prize for his historical work, A Stillness at Appomattox (1953). Catton has written extensively on the military history of the Civil War; his many works include Mr. Lincoln's Army (1951), Glory Road (1952), This Hallowed Ground (1956), Grant Moves South (1960), Grant Takes Command (1969), The Centennial History of the Civil War (3 vol., 1961–65), and Prefaces to History (1970).