Justin Winsor
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Justin Winsor (January 2, 1831-October 22, 1897) was a prominent American writer, librarian, and historian.
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated from the Boston Latin School. He entered Harvard, but left early to study in Paris and Heidelberg. He did finally receive his degree in 1853. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Writer and Editor
Justin Winsor published his first book, A History of the Town of Duxbury, during his first year at Harvard. He contributed to many periodicals, and, in addition to editing many smaller works, he edited some of the most important historical works of the 19th century. Among them; Reader’s Handbook of American History (1879), The Memorial History of Boston (4 vols., 1880-81) and the Narrative and Critical History of America (8 vols., 1884-89). The latter was the standard history reference for most of the next century.
Librarian
He served as Trustee of the Boston Public Library, 1867-1868, and Superintendent, 1868-1877. In 1877 he was appointed Librarian of Harvard University and served there until his death.
He was a founder of the American Library Association and of the Library Journal. He served as president of the ALA from 1876 through 1885. The Library History Round Table of that organization awards the Justin Winsor Prize, established in 1978, for exceptional library history essays.
Historian
Justin Winsor was a founding member of the American Historical Association and served as the president during the 1886-1887 term. The Justin Winsor Prize was the first prize established by the AHA and was awarded from 1896 through 1930 and from 1936 through 1938.
External links
- Board of Trustees - Former Trustees, Justin Winsor (http://www.bpl.org/general/trustees/winsor.htm) from the Boston Public Library (http://www.bpl.org/)
- The Cambridge History of English and American Literature etc., at Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/227/0816.html)
- Charter of the American Historical Association (http://www.historians.org/info/AHA_History/charter.htm) from the American Historical Association (http://www.historians.org/index.cfm)
- Charter of the American Library Association (http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governingdocs/charterof1879/charter1879.htm) from the American Library Association (http://www.ala.org/)
- Justin Winsor: Drafts of Various Bibliographical Works (http://www.grolierclub.org/LibraryAMC.Winsor.htm) from the Grolier Club of New York (http://www.grolierclub.org/)