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

Founding Fathers The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

, various topics relating to slavery, and the

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocki ...

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 (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

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 moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

. 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 (colloquially referred to as Dot) is a 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 ...

. He attended

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

, where he was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

. He earned an undergraduate degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1974 with a double major in

Russian Literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the ...

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, mor ...

Career

Soon after graduating, Wiencek moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he worked for Time-Life, 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 in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen C ...

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 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...

in fulfillment of his Patrick Henry Fellowship duties.

Bibliography

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

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, 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