Lawrence S. Wittner facts for kids

Lawrence S. Wittner was born on May 5, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York. He is an American historian. He has written many books and articles. His work often focuses on peace movements, how countries deal with each other (foreign policy), and fairness in money and resources (economic inequality).

About Lawrence Wittner

Lawrence Wittner went to college at Columbia College. He earned his first degree there in 1962. He then studied history at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. in history in 1967.

After finishing his studies, he taught at several colleges. These included Hampton Institute and Vassar College. He also taught at universities in Japan through the Fulbright program. In 1974, he started teaching at the State University of New York at Albany. He became a full Professor of History there. He retired from teaching in 2010.

His Writings and Awards

Wittner has written nine books and helped edit four others. He has also written about 400 articles and book reviews. From 1984 to 1987, he was the editor of Peace & Change. This is a journal that studies peace.

He has won several important awards for his work. In 1989, his article "Peace Movements and Foreign Policy" won the Charles DeBenedetti award. His book One World or None: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement Through 1953 won the Warren Kuehl Book Prize in 1995. In 1990, he received an award for his excellent scholarship, teaching, and service. The Peace History Society gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Wittner was once the president of the Council on Peace Research in History. This group is now called the Peace History Society. He also led the Peace History Commission for the International Peace Research Association.

He has received important grants and support from many foundations. These include the American Council of Learned Societies and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Speaking Engagements

Lawrence Wittner has given talks in many places around the world. He has spoken at the United Nations. He also spoke at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. He has given guest lectures at dozens of universities. Some of these include Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and Harvard. He has also given talks in many countries. These include Australia, Canada, China, Germany, and Japan.

Working for Change

Since 1961, Lawrence Wittner has been very active in different movements. He worked for racial equality and peace. He also supported labor movements, which help workers.

He was an early activist for civil rights. He also worked against apartheid, which was a system of racial separation in South Africa. For many years, he was an elected leader of United University Professions. This is a union for university staff. He also served on the national board of Peace Action. He was a delegate for Bernie Sanders at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Many groups have given him awards for his activism.

Today, he is still involved in important groups. He is on the executive board of the Albany County Central Federation of Labor. He is also a board member of the Citizens for Global Solutions Education Fund. He serves on the board of the Peace Action Fund of New York State.

Books by Lawrence Wittner

• Rebels Against War: The American Peace Movement, 1941-1960. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969. A revised edition was published in 1984.
• (Editor) MacArthur. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971.
• Cold War America: From Hiroshima to Watergate. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974. A revised edition was published in 1978.
• American Intervention in Greece, 1943-1949. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982.
• (Associate Editor) Biographical Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1985.
• One World or None: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement Through 1953. (Volume 1 of The Struggle Against the Bomb.) Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993.
• (Editor, with five others) Peace/Mir: An Anthology of Historic Alternatives to War. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1994. A Russian edition was published in 1993.
• Resisting the Bomb: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement, 1954-1970. (Volume 2 of The Struggle Against the Bomb.) Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997.
• Toward Nuclear Abolition: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement, 1971 to the Present. (Volume 3 of The Struggle Against the Bomb.) Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003.
• (Co-editor, with Glen H. Stassen) Peace Action: Past, Present, and Future. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007.
• Confronting the Bomb: A Short History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2009.
• Working for Peace and Justice: Memoirs of an Activist Intellectual. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 2012.
• What's Going On at UAardvark? Albany, NY: Solidarity Press, 2013.

See also

• List of peace activists