BANCROFT, GEORGE

born Oct. 3, 1800, Worcester, Mass., U.S.

died Jan. 17, 1891, Washington, D.C.

U.S. historian.

Bancroft was educated at Harvard and several German universities. He was minister to England (1846–49), Prussia (1867–71), and the German empire (1871–74). He was the first scholar to plan a comprehensive study of the U.S. from the colonial days through the end of the Revolutionary War. His 10-volume History of the United States (1834–40, 1852–74) reflected his belief that the U.S. represented humanity's closest approximation yet to the perfect state and earned him his reputation as the "father of U.S. history."

George Bancroft, photograph by Mathew Brady

By courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.