Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Winthrop Jordan has died

I learned from legal historian Al Brophy, via MoneyLaw, of the death of historian Winthrop Jordan last Friday. Jordan was professor emeritus of history and African-American studies at the University of Mississippi. According to the university, he died at his home Friday (Feb. 23) after a long illness. From the U of M website:
Jordan won four national prizes in 1968-69 for his book "White Over Black: American Attitudes Towards the Negro, 1550-1812," including the Society of American Historians' Parkman Prize, Columbia University's Bancroft Prize, Phi Beta Kappa's Ralph Waldo Emerson Award and the National Book Award for History and Biography.

As part of its 50th anniversary, American Heritage magazine ranked "White Over Black" as the second-best book of all time in African American history, second only to W.E.B. DuBois' "Souls of the Black Folk."
Update: Professor Jordan is remembered by legal historians on H-Law, here.