David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends (Albion's Seed,The Great Wave) to narrative histories of significant events (Paul Revere's Ride,Washington's Crossing) to explorations of historiography (Historians' Fallacies, in which he coined the term "historian's fallacy").
Early and personal life
Fischer was born in Baltimore in 1935 to John Henry Fischer and his wife, Norma néeFrederick. His father, an educator, would eventually become the superintendent of Baltimore schools and, after that, dean and president of Columbia Teachers College. He has a brother, Miles.[1] He received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1958 and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1962.[2] He married Judith Hummel Fischer in 1960, and has two children with her.[3] He was raised Lutheran, and is of Protestant faith.[4]
Career
Fischer has been on the faculty of Brandeis University for 50 years, where he is known for being interested in his students and history.[5]
He is best known for two major works: Albion's Seed (1989), and Washington's Crossing (2004). In Albion's Seed, he argues that core aspects of American culture stem from four British folkways and regional cultures and that their interaction and conflict have been decisive factors in U.S. political and historical development. In Washington's Crossing, Fischer provides a narrative of George Washington's leadership of the Continental Army in the winter of 1776–1777 during the American Revolutionary War. He has also been known for his study of how historians study the past and common fallacies they make, as there are no agreed upon canons of historical proof among general historians.
In addition to these literary awards, he has been recognized for his commitment to teaching with the 1990 Carnegie Prize as Massachusetts Professor of the Year and the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.[2]
