Carl Neumann Degler facts for kids

Carl Neumann Degler (born February 6, 1921 – died December 27, 2014) was an American historian and a writer who won a Pulitzer Prize. He was a respected professor of American History at Stanford University.

Carl Degler's Early Life and Education

Carl Degler was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 6, 1921. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.

He studied history at Upsala College, earning his first degree. Later, he earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University. His PhD work in 1952 was about how labor and industry affected New York City in the mid-1800s.

Carl Degler's Career as a Historian

Degler taught history at Vassar College for 16 years, from 1952 to 1968. In 1968, he joined the faculty at Stanford University. He taught there until he retired in 1990.

He was also chosen to lead important historical groups. He served as president of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the Southern Historical Association.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Work

In 1972, Carl Degler won the Pulitzer Prize for History. He received this award for his book Neither Black nor White, published in 1971. This book compared slavery and how people of different races were treated in Brazil and the United States.

Earlier, in 1959, he wrote Out of Our Past. This book is a study of United States history and is still used in high schools and colleges today.

A Champion for Equality

Carl Degler was known as a "scholarly champion of the common man and woman in American history." He was also described as a "founding feminist." He was one of only two men who helped start the National Organization for Women.

From 1973 to 1974, he was a visiting professor at Oxford University in England. He was also a member of important academic groups like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Carl Degler's Personal Life

Carl Degler was married to Catherine Grady for almost 50 years until she passed away. He met her at Columbia University. Later, he was married to Teresa Baker Degler for the last 14 years of his life. He had two children and four grandchildren.

He passed away in Palo Alto, California, on December 27, 2014, at the age of 93.