Carl Clinton Van Doren (September 10, 1885 – July 18, 1950) was an American critic and biographer. He was the brother of critic and teacher

Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thin ...

and the uncle of Charles Van Doren. He won the

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography The Pulitzer Prize for Biography is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award honors "a distinguished and appropriately documented biography by an American author." Award winners receive ...

for ''Benjamin Franklin''.

Life and career

Van Doren was born on September 10, 1885, in

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

, Vermilion County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the son of Eudora Ann (Butz) and Charles Lucius Van Doren, a country doctor. He and his younger brother

(born 1894), were raised on the family farm. Van Doren earned a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

in 1907 and a doctorate from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1911. He continued to teach there until 1930. He was a

world federalist World federalism or global federalism is a political ideology advocating a democratic, federal world government. A world federation would have authority on issues of global reach, while the members of such a federation would retain authority ove ...

and once said, "It is obvious that no difficulty in the way of world government can match the danger of a world without it". In 1939, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for ''Benjamin Franklin''. In 1942, he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Van Doren's study ''The American Novel'', published in 1921, is generally credited with helping to re-establish

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

's critical status as first-rate literary master. He was book section editor for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' from 1920 to 1922. In 1912, Van Doren married Irita Bradford, editor of the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' book review. They had three daughters together: Ann born in 1915, Margaret born in 1917, and Barbara (Bobby) born in 1920. The couple divorced in 1935. Van Doren married Jean Wright Gorman in 1939, but they divorced in 1945. Van Doren worked closely with Howard Henry Peckham on ''Secret History of the American Revolution'' (1941), editing documents from the Sir Henry Clinton (British Army Headquarters) Papers that revealed

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

's treason during the American Revolutionary War. Van Doren died in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torringto ...

, on July 18, 1950.

Legacy

A residence hall at the

is named after Carl Clinton Van Doren.

Publications

*''The Life of Thomas Love Peacock'' (1911)
''The American Novel''
(1921 & 1940 expanded) *''American and British Literature Since 1890'' (1925), co-written with Mark Van Doren

(1926) *''Benjamin Franklin'' (1938), winner of the 1939

*''The Secret History of the American Revolution'' (1941)
''Mutiny in January: The Story of a Crisis in the Continental Army now for the first time fully told from many hitherto unknown or neglected sources both American and British''.
New York: The Viking Press, 1943. *''The Great Rehearsal'' (1948) *''Jane Mecom: the Favorite Sister of Benjamin Franklin'' (1950) *''The Great Rehearsal'' (1948)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Doren, Carl Clinton 1885 births 1950 deaths American people of Dutch descent Columbia University alumni Columbia University faculty Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners Carl Clinton Van Doren University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni People from Vermilion County, Illinois People from Cornwall, Connecticut American literary critics 20th-century American biographers The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Writers from Illinois Members of the American Philosophical Society