Julian Parks Boyd (1903–28 May 1980) was an American professor who was Professor of history at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He served as president of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

in 1964. For his efforts in preserving the site of the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

, he was appointed an honorary

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Life

Boyd was born at Converse Mill Village, Spartanburg County,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1903. He received a bachelor's degree in 1925 and a master's degree in 1926 from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

as a doctoral candidate but left without completing his work for a PhD. From 1928 to 1932, he worked for Pennsylvania's Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. From 1932 to 1934, he was director of the

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York on the west side of Otsego Lake. Collection strengths include the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indi ...

, and from 1934 to 1940, he worked for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was Princeton University Librarian from 1940 to 1952. He joined the history department of Princeton University with the rank of professor in 1952. He edited ''The Papers of Thomas Jefferson'' from 1944 to his death. His approach has been influential:

Modern historical editing dates from the publication of Julian Boyd's first volume of ''The Papers of Thomas Jefferson'' in 1950. Although there had been earlier compilations of the papers of famous Americans, his carefully prepared texts of Jefferson's letters and other writings, "warts and all," set a new standard for accuracy and reliability.

Boyd was an elected member of both 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 ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

References

General

Specific

External links

Julian P. Boyd Bibliography, American Historical Association website
1903 births 1980 deaths Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire Duke University alumni Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the Southern United States People from Spartanburg County, South Carolina Presidents of the American Historical Association Princeton University faculty Thomas Jefferson 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers {{US-historian-stub Members of the American Philosophical Society