Jacques Barzun

Jacques Barzun, a scholar, teacher, and author, was past president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He was known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history, and wrote about a wide range of subjects, including baseball, mystery novels, and classical music.

A professor of history at Columbia College for many years, Barsun published more than forty books including Teacher in America (1945), which widely influenced the training of schoolteachers in the United States. His book, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present (2000), was a historical retrospective considered his magnus opus.

Barzun was awarded the American Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was designated a knight of the French Legion of Honor.

Articles by this Author

William James Finds His Vocation, February/March 1983 | Vol. 34, No. 2

One of America s truly great men—scientist, philosopher, and literary genius—forged his character in the throes of adversity

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