Name Reinhard Luthin Role Historian | Education Columbia University | |
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Died November 24, 1962, New York City, New York, United States Books American Demagogues: Twentieth Century, Lincoln and the Patronage | ||
Reinhard Henry Luthin (1905 – November 24, 1962) was a historian best known for his contribution to the history of President Abraham Lincoln. He was a noted professor of history at Columbia University, with a lifelong interest in facts regarding Lincoln's life and times.
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Life and career
Dr. Luthin, a Fulbright Scholar, graduated from Columbia University with honors in History in June 1934. Later he received his doctoral degree from Columbia University where he co-authored "Lincoln and the Patronage" with the Dean of Columbia University(1943-1950), Harry Carman. New York Times writer,Theodore Mack, was quoted as saying "the conclusion of the authors at the end of this enlightening and scholarly work does credit to the time and energy that must have gone into it."
As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied and taught as a Professor of American and European history at the University of Decca, Pakistan, for one year. In 1947, Columbia University received a $1.5 million bequest from Frederic Bancroft, a former librarian, author and lecturer. He requested that this money be used for the expansion of Columbia University's research resources in American history. Through this bequest, Dr. Luthin was hired to the library staff. It was here, in the position of bibliographer, that he expanded the collection of American books and other literary items.
In addition to his teaching at Columbia University, Dr. Luthin taught as a visiting lecturer at Trinity College (Connecticut), the College of William & Mary and before retirement taught at the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former fellow in history at Duke University. President John F. Kennedy, in his 1955 book Profiles in Courage, referenced Luthin's "American Demagogues" as one of his sources.
Luthin died of cancer at age 57 at his home in New York City.