Richard Norton Smith
Encyclopedia
Richard Norton Smith is an American
historian and author specializing in US presidents
.
, in 1953, Smith graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University
in 1975 with a degree in government. Following graduation he worked as a White House intern and as a free-lance writer for The Washington Post
.
He became a speech writer for Massachusetts
Senator Edward Brooke
, and then Senator Bob Dole
, with whom he has collaborated on numerous projects over the years.
Smith’s first major book, Thomas E. Dewey and His Times, was a finalist for the 1983 Pulitzer Prize
. He has also written An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover (1984), The Harvard Century: The Making of a University to a Nation (1986) and Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation (1993). In June 1997, Houghton Mifflin
published his biography of Robert R. McCormick
The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, which was later reprinted by Northwestern University Press
in 2003. It received the Goldsmith Book Prize
awarded by Harvard University
’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
in 1998.
Historian David M. Kennedy
called it a "candid and colorful biography".
Smith then worked on a biography of Nelson Rockefeller
, involving thousands of pages of documents and more than 150 interviews.
Between 1987 and 2001, Smith updated and expanded several US presidential libraries.
He was Director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
in West Branch, Iowa
.
He then worked for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Center in Abilene, Kansas
; the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
and the associated organizations in Simi Valley, California
; the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan
and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. When the museum was rededicated in 1997, Gerald Ford
called Smith "a true visionary who said it wasn't enough to renovate the Museum-—we would reinvent it."
In 1990 he organized the Eisenhower Centennial on behalf of the National Archives.
In 2001 Smith became director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
at the University of Kansas
. In October 2003, he was appointed Founding Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
in Springfield, Illinois
. About the same time, Smith also served as Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, which doubled its endowment. During the 2004 Democratic Convention, Smith correctly predicted that Barack Obama would become the first black president of the United States.
On February 12, 2009, Smith was a featured speaker at the Congressional Bicameral Celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday, held at the U.S. Capitol. In May 2009 he spoke at a "Weekend with Mr. Lincoln" conference.
In September 2009 he also spoke on Lincoln at the Clinton School of Public Service
.
, Smith was a Scholar-in-Residence in History and Public Policy at George Mason University
in suburban Washington, DC.
He provided commentary regularly on C-SPAN
and The Newshour With Jim Lehrer
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian and author specializing in US presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Life
Born in Leominster, MassachusettsLeominster, Massachusetts
Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190,...
, in 1953, Smith graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1975 with a degree in government. Following graduation he worked as a White House intern and as a free-lance writer for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
He became a speech writer for Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Senator Edward Brooke
Edward Brooke
Edward William Brooke, III is an American politician and was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 60.7%–38.7%...
, and then Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
, with whom he has collaborated on numerous projects over the years.
Smith’s first major book, Thomas E. Dewey and His Times, was a finalist for the 1983 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
. He has also written An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover (1984), The Harvard Century: The Making of a University to a Nation (1986) and Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation (1993). In June 1997, Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
published his biography of Robert R. McCormick
Robert R. McCormick
Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick was a member of the McCormick family of Chicago who became owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper...
The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, which was later reprinted by Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press is the university press of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA.- History :Northwestern University Press was founded in 1893, at first specializing in legal periodicals. Today, the Press publishes scholarly books of fiction, non-fiction, and literary...
in 2003. It received the Goldsmith Book Prize
Goldsmith Book Prize
The Goldsmith Book Prize is a literary award for books published in the United States.-Description:The award is meant to recognize works that "[improve] government through an examination of the intersection between press, politics, and public policy." The prize is awarded to the book published in...
awarded by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
in 1998.
Historian David M. Kennedy
David M. Kennedy (historian)
David M. Kennedy is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning historian specializing in American history. He is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and the Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West...
called it a "candid and colorful biography".
Smith then worked on a biography of Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, involving thousands of pages of documents and more than 150 interviews.
Between 1987 and 2001, Smith updated and expanded several US presidential libraries.
He was Director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is the Presidential library of Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States. Located in West Branch, Iowa, next to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, the library is one of thirteen presidential libraries run by the National...
in West Branch, Iowa
West Branch, Iowa
West Branch is a city in Cedar and Johnson counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 2,342 as of July 2009, a 7% growth since the 2000 census...
.
He then worked for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Center in Abilene, Kansas
Abilene, Kansas
Abilene is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,844.-History:...
; the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs is the presidential library and final resting place of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is located in Simi Valley, California, about northwest of...
and the associated organizations in Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...
; the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is part of the National Archives and Records Administration's presidential library system. The library is located at 1000 Beal Avenue on the north campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where Ford was a student and football player...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. When the museum was rededicated in 1997, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
called Smith "a true visionary who said it wasn't enough to renovate the Museum-—we would reinvent it."
In 1990 he organized the Eisenhower Centennial on behalf of the National Archives.
In 2001 Smith became director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics is housed at the University of Kansas. It was founded by former U.S. Senator from Kansas and presidential candidate Bob Dole. Opened on July 22, 2003 , the institute's $11 million, facility houses Dole's papers and hosts frequent political events...
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. In October 2003, he was appointed Founding Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st century showmanship techniques, the popular museum continues to rank as one of the most visited...
in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
. About the same time, Smith also served as Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, which doubled its endowment. During the 2004 Democratic Convention, Smith correctly predicted that Barack Obama would become the first black president of the United States.
On February 12, 2009, Smith was a featured speaker at the Congressional Bicameral Celebration of Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday, held at the U.S. Capitol. In May 2009 he spoke at a "Weekend with Mr. Lincoln" conference.
In September 2009 he also spoke on Lincoln at the Clinton School of Public Service
Clinton School of Public Service
The Clinton School of Public Service is a branch of the University of Arkansas system and is the newest of the presidential schools. It is located on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. The school is housed in a former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad station...
.
, Smith was a Scholar-in-Residence in History and Public Policy at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
in suburban Washington, DC.
He provided commentary regularly on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
and The Newshour With Jim Lehrer
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
.
Works
- Thomas E. Dewey and His Times. Simon & Schuster, 1982.
- Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover. High Plains Publishing, 1990.
- Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation. Houghton Mifflin, 1993. ISBN 0-395-52442-3.
- The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick. Northwestern University Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0810120396.