Edward Countryman
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Edward Countryman (July 31, 1944 – March 24, 2025) was an American historian known for his study of the American Revolution. He taught at Yale University, University of Canterbury, and Southern Methodist University.[1]
Edward Francis Countryman Jr., born in Glens Falls, New York, on July 31, 1944, graduated from Manhattan College in 1966, and from Cornell University with an MA, and a Ph.D. in 1971.[1]
He taught at Yale University, University of Canterbury, University of Warwick, University of Cambridge. Latterly, he was a Distinguished University Professor at Southern Methodist University from 1991 to 2022.[1][2] According to the New York Times, his "wide-ranging studies of the various groups — politicians, laborers, Native Americans and more — at work during the American Revolution helped usher in a more complex understanding of the nation’s founding." He also promoted the idea that the American Revolution was a social revolution, with "elites forced to give ground to the working and farming classes."[1]
Countryman was married to Evonne van Heussen, after a prior marriage ended in divorce. He had three children. He died in Dallas, Texas on March 24, 2025, at the age of 80.[1]
Awards
- 1983–1991 Royal Historical Society
- L.H.D. Honoris Causa Manhattan College
- 1982 Bancroft Prize for A People in Revolution
- 1966–1971 Danforth Graduate Fellow
- 1966–1967 Woodrow Wilson Fellow
