Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970) joined the department of history in 1946, after earning his doctorate from Columbia. Hofstadter’s scholarship focused on American political culture. Considered a leading public figure and intellectual in the postwar decades, he was...

In 1942 the Department of History reorganized its curriculum and introduced nine new courses on the historical background to World War II. These included courses on the British Empire and its problems, American Foreign Policy since 1900 and Far Eastern, Russian and...

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) joined the faculty of the history department in 1938 and taught until 1956. Commager was one of the most recognized historians of his time and helped define American liberalism. He was a prolific political commentator who disseminated...

Salo Wittmayer Baron (1895-1989) was the Nathan L. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Literature and Institutions. Baron’s appointment in 1929 marks the beginning of the academic study of Jewish history in American universities. In 1961, Baron testified at the...

Jacques Barzun (1907-2012) lecturer in history at Columbia from 1928, full professor from 1945 and Seth Low Professor of History from 1960. Barzun published more than 30 critical and historical studies and is considered a founder of the study of cultural history. He...