Timothy H. Breen (born September 5, 1942 in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

) is an American Professor, writer, and an expert on the

colonial history of the United States The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of the Americas, European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen Colonies, Thirteen British Colonies a ...

. He is currently the William Smith Mason Professor of American History Emeritus at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, Illinois, and a James Marsh Professor at Large at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

. He is the founding director of the Kaplan Humanities Center and the Nicholas D. Chabraja Center for Historical Studies at Northwestern. Breen is a specialist on the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. He studies the history of early America with a special interest in political thought, material culture, and cultural anthropology. Breen has published multiple books and over 60 articles. In 2010, he released his latest book, ''American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People''. Breen won the Colonial War Society Prize for the best book on the American Revolution for ''Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence'' (2004), the T. Saloutus Prize for agricultural history for his book ''Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters of the Eve of Revolution'', and the Historical Preservation Book Prize for his work ''Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories'', and several prizes for "George Washington's Journey: The President Forges a New Nation." Breen also holds awards for distinguished teaching from Northwestern. Breen received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D in history from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He also holds an honorary M.A. from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. In addition to the appointment at

, he has taught at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(as the

Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions The Pitt Professorship of American History and Institutions was established at the University of Cambridge on 5 February 1944 from a sum of £44,000 received from the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press in 1943 and augmented by a further £5,0 ...

), at

(as the

Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History The Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professorship is an endowed chair in American history at the University of Oxford, tenable for one year. The Harmsworth Professorship was established by Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1868–194 ...

) (2000-2001), both in England, and at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, Yale University, and

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. He is an honorary fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University. He has been the recipient of a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, and has also enjoyed research support from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, Center for Advanced Study, the

Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

, the

National Humanities Center The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any uni ...

, the

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

, the Munich Center for Advanced Study, the Historisches Kolleg (Munich), and the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

. He is a member of the British

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

and also the

Society of American Historians The Society of American Historians, founded in 1939, encourages and honors literary distinction in the writing of history and biography about American topics. The approximately 300 members include professional historians, independent scholars, jou ...

. An essay he published on the end of slavery in Massachusetts became the basis for the full-length opera "Slip-Knot" that was produced in Chicago. Breen is an alumnus of the Rachel Carson Center for Environmental History (Munich). He has written for the ''

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

'', the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', ''

The American Scholar "The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to Phi Beta Kappa society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundb ...

'', the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

''. Breen currently lives in Greensboro, Vermont, where he is currently completing a book entitled "The Farmer and the Aristocrat: American Revolution on Trial." He is married to Susan, and has two children, Sarah and Bant, and three grandchildren.

Published works

Books

*2019
The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America
*2015
George Washington's Journey: The President Forges a New Nation
*2010
American Insurgents – American Patriots: The Revolution of the People
*2005
The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence
*2003
Colonial America in an Atlantic World: A Story of Creative Interaction
with Timothy D. Hall *1989
Imagining The Past: East Hampton Histories
*1985
Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution
ref
p. 983
/ref> *1982
"Myne Owne Ground": Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676
with

Stephen Innes Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

*1980
Puritans and Adventurers: Change and Persistence in Early America
*1970
The Character of the Good Ruler: A Study of Political Ideas in New England, 1630-1730

Textbooks

*2010
America Past and Present
currently in 9th edition (1st ed. published 1984), with George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, Bill Brands, Ariela Gross, and Robert A. Divine.

Articles

*2010
Whose Revolution is this?
''Washington Post'' *2010

''The Daily Beast''

References

External links

Breen's CVT. H. Breen Amazon author pageT. H. Breen Goodreads pageT. H. Breen
at th
Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit FestA Revolution from Below, The Wall Street Journal, 21 May 2010Chabraja Center for Historical Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, T. H. 1942 births 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Academics of the University of Cambridge American male non-fiction writers Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History Living people Northwestern University faculty Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford Taft School alumni Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni