born Feb. 27, 1888, Xenia, Ohio, U.S.
died Oct. 30, 1965, Boston, Mass.
born Oct. 15, 1917, Columbus, Ohio
U.S. historians.
The elder Schlesinger taught at Harvard University for three decades beginning in 1924. He helped to broaden the study of U.S. history by emphasizing social and urban developments. His books include The Colonial Merchants and the American Revolution, 1763–1776 (1917) and Rise of the City, 1878–1898 (1933), and he coedited (with Dixon Ryan Fox) the series A History of American Life (1928–43). His son taught at Harvard (1946–61) and the City University of New York (1966–95). Long active in liberal politics, he was an adviser to Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy during their presidential campaigns and served as Kennedy's special assistant. His books include The Age of Jackson (1946, Pulitzer Prize), The Age of Roosevelt , 3 vol. (1957–60), A Thousand Days (1965, National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize), The Imperial Presidency (1973), and The Cycles of American History (1986).