biography
| name: |
Prescott, William H(ickling)
|
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1796–1859)
|
| biography:
| Historian, born in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. Descended from a prominent and wealthy New England family, he was blinded in the left eye (when hit by a crust of bread thrown by a fellow student) at Harvard College, and his right eye was then weakened by inflammation. After touring Europe (1815–17), he was determined to pursue a career of research and writing, and utilized assistants who read to him, and a noctograph that guided his hand while he took notes. His History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic (1837–8) was followed by History of the Conquest of Mexico (3 vols, 1843), and his History of the Conquest of Peru (1847) gained him an international public for his dramatic narratives. On a visit to England (1850) he was treated like a celebrity. He died having published only three out of his projected 10-volume work on the reign of King Philip the Second of Spain. Although more recent historians have inevitably come up with much new data, his general themes and insights have generally held up. |
|
|
