Biography/History

William Best Hesseltine was a University of Wisconsin professor of history from 1932 until his death in 1963, and the author or editor of Civil War Prisons: A Study in War Psychology; Ulysses S. Grant, Politician; A History of the South; The South in American History; Lincoln and the War Governors; The Rise and Fall of Third Parties, From Anti-Masonry to Wallace; Confederate Leaders in the New South; Pioneer's Mission: The Story of Lyman C. Draper; Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey: Autobiography and Letters; In Support of Clio: Essays in Memory of Herbert A. Kellar; Abraham Lincoln: Architect of the Nation; Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction; Three Against Lincoln: Murat Halstead Reports the Caucuses of 1860; The Blue and Gray on the Nile; Trimmers, Trucklers, and Temporizers: Notes of Murat Halstead From the Political Conventions of 1856; The Tragic Conflict: The Civil War and Reconstruction; and Third Party Movements in the United States. During his career, Hesseltine taught at a number of American universities and colleges, and at Shrivenham American University in England, and lectured in American history for the United States State Department in Afghanistan, Ceylon, Costa Rica, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Iran, and Pakistan. Among his many students who became historical scholars of distinction were Stephen Ambrose, Richard Current, Frank Freidel, Kenneth Stampp, and T. Harry Williams. A list of Hesseltine Ph.D.'s is in Appendix II of this finding aid.

A chronological outline of Hesseltine's life and career follows:

1902, February 21	Born, Frederick County, Virginia, the son of William Edward and Rosa May (Best) Hesseltine
1904	Death of father
1907-1914	Student, public schools, Frederick County, Virginia
1914-1918	Student, Millersburg Military Institute, Millersburg, Kentucky
1918-1922	Student, Washington and Lee University (B.A. 1922)
1922-1923	Teacher of History and Geography, University Military School, Mobile, Alabama
1923, September	Married Katherine Louise Kramer, Lexington, Virginia
1922-1924	Student, University of Virginia, Summer Sessions (M.A. 1924)
1923-1924	Professor of History and Social Science, Scarritt-Morrisville College, Missouri
1924-1926	Instructor of History and Political Science, University of Arkansas
1926-1928	Graduate Student and Assistant in History, Ohio State University (Ph.D. 1928)
1928-1932	Professor of History, University of Chattanooga
1928	Visiting Professor, University of Missouri, Summer Session
1930	Visiting Professor, University of Tennessee, Summer Session; Publication of Civil War Prisons: A Study in War Psychology
1931	Received the C.M. McClung Award in Tennessee History
1932	Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin
1935	Visiting Professor, University of Cincinnati, Summer Session; Publication of Ulysses S. Grant, Politician
1936	Visiting Professor, University of Washington, Summer Session; Publication of A History of the South
1939	Visiting Professor, New York University, Summer Session
1940	Publication of A Syllabus of United States History
1941	Visiting Professor, University of Southern California, Summer Session
1945	Instructor in History, Shrivenham American University, Shrivenham, England
1947	Lecturer in American History, United States Department of State, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras
1948	Publication of The Rise and Fall of Third Parties, from Anti-Masonry to Wallace; Publication of Lincoln and the War Governors
1949	Visiting Professor, University of California (Berkeley) Summer Session; Walter L. Fleming Lecturer in Southern History, Louisiana State University; Awarded Litt.D. degree, Washington and Lee University
1950	Publication of Confederate Leaders in the New South
1953-54	Visiting Professor, Rice University
1954	Publication of Pioneer's Mission: The Story of Lyman Copeland Draper; Visiting Professor, Stanford University, Summer Session; Publication of Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey: Autobiography and Letters
1955	Lecturer, United States Department of State, Germany
1957	Visiting Professor, University of South Carolina, Summer Session; T. Harry Williams, a Hesseltine student, elected president of the Southern Historical Association
1958	Awarded LL.D. degree, Knox College; Publication of In Support of Clio: Essays in Memory of Herbert A. Kellar
1959	Publication of Abraham Lincoln: Architect of the Nation; Lecturer, United States Department of State, Iran, Afghanistan, Ceylon, and Pakistan
1960	Elected president of the Southern Historical Association; Publication of Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction; Publication of Three Against Lincoln: Murat Halstead Reports the Caucuses of 1860
1961	Publication of Blue and Gray on the Nile; Publication of Trimmers, Trucklers, and Temporizers: Notes of Murat Halstead from the Political Conventions of 1856; Elected President of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
1962	Publication of The Tragic Conflict: The Civil War and Reconstruction; Appointed Vilas Research Professor, University of Wisconsin; Publication of Third Party Movements in the United States
1963	Lecturer, India
1963, December 8	Death at Madison, Wisconsin
1966	Publication of American History: A Survey by Richard Current, Frank Freidel, and T. Harry Williams, all former students of Hesseltine. The book was dedicated to Hesseltine.
1970	Pulitzer Prize awarded to Williams
1977	Kenneth Stampp, a Hesseltine student, elected president of Organization of American Historians