David Gaffney Sansing (June 15, 1933 – July 6, 2019) was a history professor and author in Mississippi who wrote extensively about the state's history. He was a professor emeritus at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

at the time of his death. Sansing was born in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, ninth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, and the largest city by population in the Mississippi Delta region. It is the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, Was ...

, and served in the Army during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Upon his return, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private university affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and located in Clinton, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1826, MC is the second oldest Baptists, Baptist-affiliated college or university in ...

and his PhD from the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

. He was hired at Ole Miss in 1970. He wrote about various aspects of the state's history. His books ''The University of Mississippi: A Sesquicentennial History'' is considered to be the definitive history of the university. It was published for the school's sesquicentennial. Sansing died on July 6, 2019, at a hospital in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, following a fall at home.

Writings

*''Mississippi Governors: Soldiers, Statesmen, Scholars and Scoundrels'' *''The University of Mississippi: A Sesquicentennial History'' *'' Making Haste Slowly: The Troubled History of Higher Education in Mississippi'' *'' A History of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion'' with Carroll Waller *''Mississippi: A Study of Your State'' with Ray Skates *''Mississippi: Its People and Culture'' *''Discovering Mississippi'' *''A Troubled History: The Governance of Higher Education in Mississippi'' The Nautilus Publishing Company *''What Was Freedom's Price'', editor University of Mississippi Press (1978) *''The Other Mississippi: A State in Conflict with Itself'' (2018) *"David Holmes, First and Fifth Governor of Mississippi: 1817-1820; 1826"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sansing, David 1933 births 2019 deaths University of Mississippi faculty Mississippi College alumni University of Southern Mississippi alumni Historians of Mississippi People from Greenville, Mississippi 20th-century American historians Historians from Mississippi 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American historians American male non-fiction writers