David Hackett Fischer
David Hackett Fischer is an award-winning historian, author, and professor of history. He has written extensively on a variety of topics and has written numerous books including Paul Revere's Ride, Liberty and Freedom, Charlottesville and the University of Virginia: A Sesquicentennial History, Washington's Crossing, and The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History.
Dr. Fischer was born June 23, 1935 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a historian of American History at Brandeis University and has held numerous professorships at several colleges and universities. Dr. Fischer has also served as the Erich Maria Remarque Professor at NYU and as the Olin chair at the Huntington Library. Fischer earned his Ph.D. in 1967 from Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Fischer has received many accolades and awards for his work, including the Pulitzer Prize and the American Historical Association’s Award for Scholarly Distinction. He was most recently awarded the 2018 George Washington Prize for his book Washington's Crossing, which recounts the military campaign launched by George Washington against the British in 1776.
Dr. Fischer has written extensively about history in books such as Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America’s Founding Ideas, which offers a compelling look at America's founding ideals. He examines both the movement of ideas as well as the related political developments of the period. The book covers the influence of the Enlightenment, the Constitution, and America's Revolutionary War.
In Paul Revere’s Ride, Fischer explores the events and circumstances that led to one of the most famous events of the American Revolutionary War. He examines the various factors leading up to the midnight ride, including local politics, national strategic military calculations, and the economic and social conditions of the time.
Charlottesville and the University of Virginia: A Sesquicentennial History is a comprehensive look at how the university's unique identity was shaped during the 19th century. Fischer takes a look at the dynamic between faculty and students and the evolving relationship between the university and the city of Charlottesville. He follows the various changes in the university's history, from its founding in 1819 to its expansion into a world-renowned academic institution.
In The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History, Fischer looks at the "rhythm of history" and how patterns of inflation and deflation have played significant roles in affecting the economies of civilisations for centuries. He looks at four “great waves” of history—the medieval, industrial, modern and postmodern—with detailed analysis of each period's prices and their effects.
Dr. Fischer's books have set a high standard for all historians of American history, and his insights into history and economics remain relevant to this day. Through his fascinating books, he has presented readers with an extraordinary look at the history of the United States. He has revealed how interconnected people, events, and the economy are, and how the formation of the United States was the result of many factors coming together in an intricate web of cause and effect.
