Bruce Catton

Date of Birth: October 9, 1899

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Date of Death: August 28, 1978

Biography

Bruce Catton was an esteemed American historian and journalist, best known for his comprehensive and engaging works on the American Civil War. Born in Petoskey, Michigan, Catton grew up in Benzonia, Michigan, where he developed an early interest in history partly due to the influence of Civil War veterans he met in his youth. After attending Oberlin College but not completing his degree, Catton worked as a journalist for several newspapers, including the Cleveland News, the Boston American, and the Cleveland Morning News. Catton’s breakthrough as a historian came with the publication of “Mr. Lincoln’s Army” in 1951, the first book in his celebrated trilogy about the Army of the Potomac. His work was lauded for its narrative style and depth of research, making the complexities of the Civil War accessible to a broad audience. He won the Pulitzer Prize for History and the National Book Award for the third volume of the trilogy, “A Stillness at Appomattox,” published in 1953. Over his career, Catton wrote more than a dozen books, many of which became bestsellers and established him as one of the foremost Civil War historians of his time.

5 Interesting Facts about Bruce Catton

1. Bruce Catton served briefly in the United States Navy during World War I but did not see combat.

2. He was the founding editor of American Heritage magazine, which played a significant role in popularizing American history.

3. Catton’s father was a Congregationalist minister, which influenced his disciplined and thoughtful approach to writing.

4. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 by President Gerald Ford.

5. Catton’s works are known for their vivid, almost novelistic prose, which brought historical figures and events to life for his readers.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Bruce Catton

1. “What a man can do is nothing, but what he can suffer is tremendous.”

2. “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”

3. “There is a mystique about the Civil War that attaches to no other period in American history.”

4. “The past is not dead; it is living in us, and will be alive in the future which we are now helping to make.”

5. “So the end of the Civil War can be understood not as an end, but as a beginning – a second American Revolution.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

While specific details regarding Bruce Catton’s net worth are not publicly available, his successful career as an author and editor, including his work with best-selling books and American Heritage magazine, likely afforded him a comfortable lifestyle.