David M. Kennedy

David Michael Kennedy (born July 22, 1941) is an American historian specializing in American history. He is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University and the former director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West. Kennedy's scholarship is notable for its integration of economic analysis and cultural analysis with social history and political history.

Kennedy is responsible for the recent editions of the popular history textbook, The American Pageant. He is also the current editor (since 1999) of the Oxford History of the United States series. This position was held previously by C. Vann Woodward. Earlier in his career, Kennedy won the Bancroft Prize for his first book Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger (1970), and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his book World War I, Over Here: The First World War and American Society (1980). He was the Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History from 1995 to 1996. He won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for History for Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 (1999).

Biography Born on July 22, 1941, in Seattle, Washington, Kennedy received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford University and his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in American studies from Yale University. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Kennedy married Judith (Judy) Ann Osborne in 1970, and they remained together until her death on June 5, 2023. They have three children.

Books

Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger (1970) John Gilmary Shea Prize, 1970 Bancroft Prize, 1971 Social Thought in America and Europe, co-editor with Paul A. Robinson (1970) Progressivism: The Critical Issues, editor (1971) The American People in the Depression (1973) The American People in the Age of Kennedy (West Haven: Pendulum Press, 1973) The American Pageant: A History of the Republic, co-author with Thomas A. Bailey and Lizabeth Cohen (1979; 14th ed. 2010). Over Here: The First World War and American Society (1980) Pulitzer Prize Finalist, 1981 Power and Responsibility: Case Studies in American Leadership, co-editor with Michael Parrish (1986) The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries, co-editor with Thomas A. Bailey (1983) Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 (1999) (Vol. 9 in The Oxford History of the United States)

Awards and honors Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1996 Pulitzer Prize, 2000 Francis Parkman Prize, 2000 Ambassador Book Award, 2000 California Gold Medal for Literature, 2000 Member of the American Philosophical Society, 2001