Bruce Catton
| Bruce Catton | |
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Bruce Catton, c. 1960s
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| Born | Charles Bruce Catton October 9, 1899 Petoskey, Michigan, USA |
| Died | August 28, 1978 (aged 78) Frankfort, Michigan |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1948–1978 |
| Genre | History |
| Subject | American Civil War |
| Spouse | Hazel H. Cherry |
| Children | William Bruce Catton |
Charles Bruce Catton (October 9, 1899 – August 28, 1978) was an American historian and journalist, best known for his books on the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular history, featuring colorful characters and historical vignettes, in addition to the basic facts, dates, and analyses. Although his books were well researched and supported by footnotes, they were not generally presented in a rigorous academic style. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1954 for A Stillness at Appomattox, his study of the final campaign of the war in Virginia.
Charles Bruce Catton was born in Petoskey, Michigan, to George R. and Adela M. (Patten) Catton, and raised in Benzonia, Michigan. His father was a Congregationalist minister, who accepted a teaching position in Benzonia Academy and later became the academy's headmaster. As a boy, Catton first heard the reminiscences of the aged veterans who had fought in the Civil War. In his memoir, Waiting for the Morning Train (1972), Catton explained how their stories made a lasting impression upon him:
[These stories gave] a color and a tone not merely to our village life, but to the concept of life with which we grew up ... I think I was always subconsciously driven by an attempt to restate that faith and to show where it was properly grounded, how it grew out of what a great many young men on both sides felt and believed and were brave enough to do.
In 1916, Catton began attending Oberlin College, but he left without completing a degree because of World War I.
After serving briefly in the United States Navy during World War I, Catton became a reporter and editor for The Cleveland News (as a freelance reporter), the Boston American (1920–1924), and The Plain Dealer (1925). From 1926 to 1941, he worked for the Newspaper Enterprise Association, a Scripps-Howard syndicate), for which he wrote editorials and book reviews, as well as serving as a Washington, D.C., correspondent. Catton tried twice to complete his studies, but found himself repeatedly pulled away by his newspaper work. Oberlin College awarded him an honorary degree in 1956.
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