Geoffrey Champion Ward (born 1940) is an American editor, author, historian and writer of scripts for American history documentaries for public television. He is the author or co-author of 19 books, including 10 companion books to the documentaries he has written. He is the winner of seven

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

Biography

Youth

Ward was born in

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city in Licking County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus at the junction of the forks of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 United ...

, and is a graduate of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

(1962), where he majored in art. He had initially planned to be a painter. His father was F. Champion Ward, educator and a vice-president of the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

. Ward spent some of his boyhood years in India. Ward's great-grandfather was Ferdinand Ward, a 19th-century swindler whose

ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...

led to a financial crash which bankrupted many investors, including

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

and

Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a sharp critic of William M. Tweed, "Boss" Tweed and the T ...

. Ward wrote a book about the story of his great-grandfather, ''A Disposition to be Rich,'' in 2012.

Career

Early career

Ward was the founding editor of ''Audience Magazine'' (1970–1973) and the editor of ''

American Heritage Magazine ''American Heritage'' is a magazine dedicated to covering the history of the United States for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes.

'' (1977–1982). His 1989 biography of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, ''A First-class Temperament: the Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt'', 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".Francis Parkman Prize The Francis Parkman Prize, named after Francis Parkman, is awarded by the Society of American Historians for the best book in American history each year. Its purpose is to promote literary distinction in historical writing. The Society of Ameri ...

of the Society of American Historians and was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

Later career

Ward has been a long-time collaborator of American documentary filmmaker

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

. Ward describes being asked to write the script for ''

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

'' after meeting Burns at his house in Walpole, New Hampshire. The principal writer of the television mini-series '' The Civil War'' (1990), Ward has collaborated with its co-producer

on most of the documentaries he has made since, including ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

'', ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

'', '' The War'', and ''

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

''. The films with Burns have garnered him five

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s. He has won an additional two Emmys for ''The Kennedys'' (1992), and ''TR, The Story of Theodore Roosevelt'' (1996). His script for the documentary '' Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson'', won the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

Award in 2005, and the accompanying book won the 2006

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports writing award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. It was first presented in 1989, and was conceived by Graham Sharpe of William Hill, and John Gaustad, founder of the Sport ...

and the

Anisfield-Wolf Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

for best biography. In 2006, the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad incl ...

gave Ward their

Friend of History Award The Friend of History Award is an award given by the Organization of American Historians (OAH). The award was first presented in 2005. It is not a monetary award and is granted annually. Purpose Friend of History Award "recognizes an individual, w ...

for his outstanding contributions to American history: The 2011 Burns/Ward collaboration, ''

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

'', brought Ward his seventh Emmy for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming. Since that project, he worked with Ken Burns on '' The Roosevelts: An Intimate History'', a seven-part documentary miniseries depicting the lives of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, (broadcast on PBS in September 2014), and a multi-part TV series "

", with Lynn Novick and Ken Burns (broadcast on PBS in September 2017). In 2012, Ward published a biography of his great-grandfather Ferdinand Ward (1851–1925), known as the greatest swindler of the Gilded Age. ''A Disposition to be Rich'' was written with the assistance of private family materials.

India

Ward spent some of his boyhood years in India and has remained involved with India and in Indian issues. Working and writing about the ongoing struggle to save the Bengal tiger in the wild has meant friendships with great tiger men like Fateh Singh Rathore and Billy Arjan Singh. His essays and pieces on India have appeared in a wide array of publications, including '' Geo'', ''

Audubon The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such org ...

'', ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', '' Smithsonian'', ''

Aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

'' and others. In 2011, he wrote an introduction for the book ''Varanasi: Portrait of a Civilization,'' (Collins, India,) by the photographer ''Raghu Rai,'' with whom he has collaborated on magazine pieces. He is currently at work on a book about the partition of the Indian subcontinent.

Jazz

Ward is involved in the world of jazz and has collaborated with

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

and the ''Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.'' After the documentary ''

'' was aired on public television, in an interview in the New York Times, Ward spoke of playing ''West End Blues'' by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, as a 15-year-old student, so often that the bartender in the Paris cafe across the street from his student housing called him 'Satchmo': "I must have played it a thousand times," he remembered. "I think jazz music is so important to this country.... I find these characters, Armstrong, Ellington, working in a Jim Crow world, genuinely heroic.""

Personal life

Ward is married to the writer and social/environmental activist Diane Raines Ward. He has three children. When he was nine years old, Ward contracted

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

, and wears leg braces. He describes hearing

's recording of " West End Blues" on the radio while in the hospital and noted its profound impact on his life. He later cited Franklin Roosevelt as a source of inspiration on how to overcome his handicap. When interviewed for ''The Roosevelts'', Ward "was determined not to get emotional", as Ken Burns said later, when discussing the "terror" felt by FDR during his ordeal in 1921; Burns did not mention Ward's disability on camera, but he had waited until the end of their interview before getting to questions on FDR's polio, at which point Ward "was taken aback and the emotions caught him". Ward considers British broadcaster and naturalist

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

to be "the best television writer in the history of the medium." Ward describes himself as a "lifelong liberal Democrat."

Works

Books

*''Lincoln's Thought and the Present'' (1976),

Sangamon State University The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois, United States. The university was established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1969 as Sangamon State University with a focus on post-graduate edu ...

*''Treasures of the World: The Maharajas'' (1983),

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 marketeer seller ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

*''Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1905'' (1985),

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

; New York *''A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt'' (1989), Harper & Row. *''The Civil War: An Illustrated History,'' (1990), with Ric and Ken Burns; based upon PBS television series,

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

*''American Originals: The Private Worlds of Some Singular Men and Women'' (1991),

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

*''Tiger-Wallahs: Encounters with the Men Who Tried to Save the Greatest of the Cats'' (1993), with Diane Raines Ward; HarperCollins *''Baseball: An Illustrated History'' (1994), with Ken Burns; Alfred A. Knopf *''Closest Companion: The Unknown Story of the Intimate Friendship Between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Margaret Suckley'' (1995),

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

*''The West: An Illustrated History'' (1997),

Little, Brown & Co Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

*''The Year of the Tiger'' (1998), with Michael Nichols; National Geographic Books *''Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony'' (1999), with Ken Burns; Alfred A. Knopf *''Jazz: A History of America's Music'' (2000), with Ken Burns; Alfred A. Knopf *''Mark Twain'' (2001), with Dayton Duncan; Alfred A. Knopf *''Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson'' (2004); Alfred A. KnopfAnisfield-Wolf Book Award, 2005; William Hill Sports Book of the Year, 2006 *''The War: An Intimate History'' (2007), with Ken Burns; Alfred A. Knopf *''Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life'' (2008), with Wynton Marsalis;

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

*''A Disposition to be Rich: How a Small-Town Pastor's Son Ruined an American President, Brought on a Wall Street Crash and Made Himself the Best-Hated Man in the United States'' (2012); Alfred A. Knopf *''The Roosevelts: An Intimate History'' (2014) with Ken Burns; Alfred A. Knopf *''The Vietnam War: An Intimate History'' (2017) Alfred A. Knopf

Documentary film scripts

;With Ken Burns and Florentine Films; shown on Public Television: * ''

The U.S. and the Holocaust ''The U.S. and the Holocaust'' is a 2022 three-part Documentary film, documentary miniseries about the United States and the Holocaust, United States' response to the Holocaust. The series was directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstei ...

'' (2022; Emmy Award, 2024) * ''

'' (2017) * '' The Roosevelts: An Intimate History'' (2014) * ''

'' (2011, Emmy Award) * '' The War'' (2007; Emmy Award, 2007) * '' Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson'' (2005 Emmy Award, 2005) * ''

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

'' (with Dayton Duncan, 2002) * ''

'' (2001) * '' Not for Ourselves Alone'' (1999) * ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' (1998) * ''

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

'' (1997) * ''

The West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NAT ...

'' (with Dayton Duncan, 1996) * ''

'' (principal writer 1994; Emmy Award, 1995) * '' Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio'' (writer, 1991) * '' The Civil War'' (principal writer, 1990; Emmy Award, 1991) * '' Thomas Hart Benton'' (writer,1989) * '' The Congress'' (contributing writer,1989) * '' The Statue of Liberty'' (co-writer, 1985) * ''

'' (writer, 1985) ;For the

American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

Series,

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Affiliated stations and facilities WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...

* ''Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided'' (with David Grubin, 2001) * ''TR'' (writer with David Grubin, 1996. Emmy Award) * ''The Last Boss'' (writer, with Barak Goodman, 1996) * ''The Kennedys'' (principal writer, 1992; Emmy Award) * ''Reminiscing in Tempo'', (principal writer, 1991) * ''Lindbergh'' (writer, 1990) * ''Nixon'' (principal writer, 1990; Writers Guild Award)

References

External links

PBS bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Geoffrey C. 1940 births Living people Oberlin College alumni University of Chicago Laboratory Schools alumni 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Primetime Emmy Award winners Documentary war filmmakers 20th-century American male writers National Book Critics Circle Award winners