Christopher Collier (born January 29, 1930; died March 6, 2020) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and fiction writer. Collier was born in New York City. Christopher Collier, known as Kit, is the son of Edmund Collier, a writer, and Katherine Brown. He comes from a family of writers and teachers. He attended

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in th ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, (Ph.D. 1964). He was the official Connecticut State Historian (1984–2004) and professor of history emeritus at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

. Collier and his brother, the author

James Lincoln Collier James Lincoln Collier (born June 29, 1928) is an American journalist, professional musician, jazz commentator, and author. Many of his non-fiction titles focus on music theory and the history of jazz. He and his brother Christopher Collier, a h ...

, have co-written novels, most of which are based on historic events. Collier's children's books include ''

My Brother Sam Is Dead ''My Brother Sam Is Dead'' is a 1974 young-adult historical fiction novel by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. The book takes place in Redding, Connecticut during the American Revolution, and is told from the perspective of a young ...

'' (1974), which deals with the American Revolution, and was awarded a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist * Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), ...

, and seven historical novels written with James, including ''Jump Ship to Freedom'' (1981). His books for adults include ''Roger Sherman's Connecticut: Yankee Politics and the American Revolution''; ''Decision in Philadelphia'' (with James); and ''All Politics is Local'', about Connecticut's role in the

1787 Constitutional Convention The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. Although the convention was intended to revise the league of states and first system of government under the Articles of Confederation, the intention f ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Christopher 1930 births 2020 deaths Columbia University alumni Newbery Honor winners Writers from New York City Clark University alumni University of Connecticut faculty Historians of Connecticut Novelists from Connecticut 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American historians American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers Historians from New York (state)