John Higham (historian)
Encyclopedia
John William Higham was an American
historian
, scholar of American culture
and specialist on issues of ethnicity.
, Higham earned his undergraduate history degree from Johns Hopkins
in 1941 and received a master's degree from Yale University
in 1942. In World War II
, he served with the historical division of the Army Air Corps in Italy. He married psychologist Eileen Moss Higham in 1948.
After serving as assistant editor of The American Mercury
, he earned a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
in 1949. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles
, Rutgers University
, Columbia University
and the University of Michigan
before returning to Johns Hopkins in 1971.
He is noted for having described anti-Catholicism in the United States
as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history".
Higham died of a cerebral aneurysm
in Baltimore.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, scholar of American culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and specialist on issues of ethnicity.
Life and career
Born in Jamaica, QueensJamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
, Higham earned his undergraduate history degree from Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
in 1941 and received a master's degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1942. In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served with the historical division of the Army Air Corps in Italy. He married psychologist Eileen Moss Higham in 1948.
After serving as assistant editor of The American Mercury
The American Mercury
The American Mercury was an American magazine published from 1924 to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured writing by some of the most important writers in the United States through the 1920s and 1930s...
, he earned a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in 1949. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
before returning to Johns Hopkins in 1971.
He is noted for having described anti-Catholicism in the United States
Anti-Catholicism in the United States
Strong political and theological positions hostile to the Catholic Church and its followers was prominent among Protestants in Britain and Germany from the Protestant Reformation onwards. Immigrants brought them to the American colonies. Two types of anti-Catholic rhetoric existed in colonial society...
as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history".
Higham died of a cerebral aneurysm
Cerebral aneurysm
A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.- Signs and symptoms :...
in Baltimore.
Works
- Strangers in the Land, Patterns of American Nativism (1860-1925), Rutgers University Press, 1955. (Atheneum, 1963, [1981 - 21st Printing])
- Send These to Me: Immigrants in Urban America, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984.
- John Higham - Hanging Together: Unity and Diversity in American Culture, Yale University Press, 2001. Three decades of writings.