Donald R. Kelley died on August 24, 2023. He was the James Westfall Thompson Professor Emeritus of History. A intellectual historian, his work concentrated on the history of historical thought and writing in the west and the history of law and political thought. Some of his most recent books include Faces of History: Historical Inquiry from Herodotus to Herder (1998), The Descent of Ideas: The History of Intellectual History (2002), Fortunes of History: Historical Inquiry from Herder to Huizinga (2003). He was the longtime editor of the Journal of the History of Ideas and the recipient of a legion of prestigious fellowships and awards.Those of us who had the privilege of meeting him will remember his enormous erudition and his sly and trenchant wit.
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RESEARCH INTERESTS
- History of Western historiography
- European Intellectual history
- History of Law
PUBLICATIONS
- Faces of History: Historical Inquiry from Herodotus to Herder (1998)
- Fortunes of History: Historical Inquiry from Herder to Huizinga (in press)
- The Descent of Ideas: The History of Intellectual History (2002)
- The Writing of History and the Study of Law (1997)
- Edited: Versions of History: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment (1990)
- History and the Disciplines: the Reclassification of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe (1997)
- Festschrift: Historians and Ideologues: Essays in Honor of Donald R. Kelley, ed. J. H. M. Salmon and Anthony Grafton (2001)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- American Philosophical Society
- Jacques Barzun Prize Committee (chair)
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- International Society for Intellectual History (president)
- Renaissance Society of America
- Medieval Academy
- American Society for Legal History
