Harold Holzer has a birthday.
The widely acknowledged preeminent Abraham Lincoln scholar, Harold Holzer, celebrates his own life on February 5th. Born in 1949 just seven days short of the 140th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, Holzer has spent much of his life studying and writing about the man who freed the slaves and saved the Union.
So what is that he has done to warrant the title of preeminent scholar? You can start with the 43 books on Lincoln that Holzer has authored, co-authored, or edited. Add in the hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of lectures he has given over the years. And for good measure throw in his chairmanships of the Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation and the lead work he has done for other major Lincoln organizations and events. He has won too many Lincoln scholarship-related awards to count, but one notable recognition was the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia‘s annual Award of Achievement in 2006.
In checking my list it seems I only own 11 of Holzer’s books, three of which are signed first editions. I’ve attended a lecture (or three), and witnessed his amazing recall – and understanding – of Lincoln’s words and intent. Perhaps he will write a foreword for my book when it comes out; he’s written dozens over the years in addition to his own volumes and articles.
Holzer is currently a Hertog Fellow at The New York Historical Society. As he enjoys the public reception to the Steven Spielberg film, Lincoln, on which he was a content consultant, it’s easy to imagine that Harold Holzer is having a very happy birthday. Lincoln fans are certainly happy that Harold Holzer has taught us so much about Abraham Lincoln.
More about Abraham Lincoln.
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Offhand, I am willing to guess Harold is a little fond of the sixteenth President. I remember when I worked at Rutledge Hill Press we published one of his pictorials of Lincoln, where he had gone back and cleaned up the old photos of Lincoln; beautiful prints of the President. Nice piece about Harold Holzer.
That would be a pretty good guess. 🙂 He not only has written a lot, he’s been willing to work with others to share even more. I’m glad you liked the piece.