Henry Wiencek (born 1952) is an American journalist, historian and editor whose work has encompassed historically significant architecture, the

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

, various topics relating to slavery, and the

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

company. In 1999, ''The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White'', a biographical history which chronicles the racially intertwined Hairston clan of the noted Cooleemee Plantation House, won the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and slavery as a result of his book, ''An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America'', which earned him the Los Angeles Times Book Award for history. Partly as a result of this book, Wiencek was named the first-ever

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

''Patrick Henry Fellow'', inaugurating a program designed to provide writing fellowships for nationally prominent historians. In 2003, Wiencek was appointed to the board of trustees for the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

. In June 2010, Texas A&M University Press released ''The Moodys of Galveston and Their Mansion'', a history of the prominent Galveston family and their celebrated home. Wiencek originally compiled the manuscript after the Moody Mansion opened to the public as a museum, education center, and location for community gatherings in 1991.

Early life and education

Wiencek was born and raised in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...

. He attended

Boston College High School Boston College High School (also known as BC High) is an all-male, Society of Jesus, Jesuit, Catholic Church, Catholic College-preparatory school, college-preparatory day school in the Columbia Point, Boston, Columbia Point neighborhood of Dorche ...

, where he was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

. He earned an undergraduate degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1974 with a double major in

Russian Literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...

and

Literary Theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...

Career

Soon after graduating, Wiencek moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he worked for

Time-Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and Direct marketing, direct ...

, editing and writing for its publications.

Personal life

Wiencek is married to Donna M. Lucey, who is also an American historian. Wiencek has resided in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

since 1992, where he works in his home. He and his wife spent the 2008-2009 academic year in residence in a restored colonial house at

Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,532 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Kent County, the oldest county in Maryland. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown ...

in fulfillment of his Patrick Henry Fellowship duties.

Bibliography

* *''The Moodys of Galveston and Their Mansion'', 2010 * ''An Imperfect God:

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, His Slaves, and the Creation of America'', 2003 * '' The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White'', 1999 * ''National Geographic Guide to America's Great Houses'', 1999 * ''Virginia & the Capital Region Smithsonian Guides (Smithsonian Guides to Historic America)'', 1998 * ''Smithsonian Guides to Historic America: Southern New England - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island (Smithsonian Guides to Historic America)'', 1998 * ''Old Houses'', 1995 * ''Plantations of the Old South (Great American Homes)'', 1990 * ''The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America - Southern New England (The Smithsonian guide to historic America)'', 1989 * ''World of Lego Toys'', 1987 * ''The Lords of Japan (Treasures of The World)'', 1982

References

External links

*
Review of ''An Imperfect God''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiencek, Henry 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Historians of the United States Yale College alumni Living people 1952 births Writers from Charlottesville, Virginia Writers from Boston Writers from New York City Boston College High School alumni Historians from Massachusetts Historians from New York (state) Historians from Virginia American male non-fiction writers National Book Critics Circle Award winners