David Blight

David Blight is an American historian and professor at Yale University. He is widely considered one of the foremost experts in the field of American history, having written extensively about topics related to the American Civil War, Reconstruction and African-American history. Blight's works have earned him national and international acclaim, and he has twice won the Lincoln Prize for his work.

David Blight was born in 1952 in Old Town, Maine. His childhood was filled with books, stories and the outdoors, developing an early and intense interest in history. He attended the University of Maine, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in American history. In 1977 he went on to pursue a PhD in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which he completed in 1983. He then went on to teach at the University of Rochester before joining the faculty of Yale University in 1992. He currently serves as the Class of 1954 Professor of American History at Yale.

David Blight’s work centers around the history of the U.S. Civil War and its after effects. He is the author, editor and contributor to a number of books, including Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (2001), which won him the Bancroft Prize and Lincoln Prize. The book examines how remembering and memorializing the Civil War shaped interpretations of race and reunion for decades after the conflict's end.

His work has earned him numerous prestigious awards and honors, including American Historical Association’s 2011 Award for Scholarly Distinction, Library of Congress’s 2014 Living Legend Award, and Election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also served as the education chairperson of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and chaired the New Hampshire Civil War Sesquicentennial Advisory Board.

David Blight's work with the Civil War commemorations has been featured in many books and publications, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Newsweek. He has also been a regular commentator on Civil War history and related topics for National Public Radio, PBS, The History Channel and other outlets.

In addition to teaching and writing, Blight serves as the director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale, which seeks to promote a balanced and inclusive understanding of the history of American slavery and Freedom. He has also served as president of The Society of Civil War Historians, a professional organization devoted to historic research and writing.

David Blight is well-known for his knowledge and expertise of American history. He is a noted public scholar and advocate for civil rights, and his works have played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of American history through a truthful and inclusive re-examination of the post-Civil War period. His books and articles continue to shape our understanding of the past, helping us learn from our history and move toward a better future.