Occupation Author and educator | ||
Born March 9, 1946 (age 71) ( 1946-03-09 ) Alma maters Indiana State University (Bachelor of Science), University of Evansville (Master's Degree) | ||
William Bartelt, often referred to as Bill Bartelt, is an American historian and author based in Newburgh, Indiana. He is considered the greatest living scholar on Abraham Lincoln's youth in Indiana.
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Early life and education
Bartelt graduated from Holland High School and received a bachelor of science in history Education from Indiana State University and a master’s degree from the University of Evansville. He worked more than fifteen summers at the Living Historical Farm at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City, Indiana. He also worked at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois.
Career
Bartelt has published books, articles, and numerous historical reports on Lincoln's life, including a 2008 book titled There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln’s Indiana Youth. In the book Bartelt guides readers through the various texts that provide much of historians' knowledge about Lincoln's boyhood. There I Grew Up helped to inspire The Better Angels, a 2014 American biographical drama-historical film about Lincoln's formative years. Bartelt also served as a historical consultant for the film. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission's advisory and education committees, and also served as vice chair of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and board member of the Abraham Lincoln Association.
Bartelt serves on the Board of Trustees of the Indiana Historical Society and received the Indiana Historical Society’s “Hoosier Historian” award in 2003. In addition to his Lincoln scholarship, Bartelt taught social studies at Harrison High School from 1968 until 2005 where he also chaired the social studies department, and he served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern Indiana from 1986 until 2007. Bartelt has also been president of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society, president of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, and served as historian of Trinity United Methodist Church in Evansville.