Rhys Llywelyn Isaac (20 November 1937 – 6 October 2010) was a South African-born Australian historian of American history who also worked in the United States. Small picture of Rhys with book 1983

Isaac and his twin brother Glynn were born in Cape Town, South Africa, to William Edwyn Isaac and Frances Margaret Leighton, both professional botanists. Isaac earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

. In 1959 he was the Cape Province Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College (Oxford), earning his Ph.D. in 1962. In 1963 Isaac emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where he taught at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, and later at La Trobe University (1971–91), where he was emeritus professor of American history. In 1975 he was a distinguished visiting professor of early American history at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

. Isaac won the 1983

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 ...

for History for his book '' The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790'' (1982), becoming the first and only Australian historian to win a

. In 2004 Isaac published ''Landon Carter's Uneasy Kingdom: Revolution and Rebellion on a Virginia Plantation'', which made use of the exemplary diary of a Virginian landholder and member of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

Death

Isaac died at his home in Blairgowrie, Victoria, Australia, on 6 October 2010, aged 72, from cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Rhys L. 1937 births People from Cape Town 2010 deaths 20th-century South African historians Colony of Virginia Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the Southern United States History of the Thirteen Colonies Historians of the United States Academic staff of La Trobe University College of William & Mary faculty Pulitzer Prize for History winners Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers