1902 Oct 25 | Born in Pittsburgh, Penn. to James Williams Commager and Anna Elizabeth Dan | ||
1923 | Completed Ph.B. at the University of Chicago | ||
1924 | Completed M.A. at the University of Chicago | ||
1924-25 | Student at University of Copenhagen on an American-Scandanavian Foundation fellowship, travels in Germany | ||
1926-38 | Taught at New York University | ||
1926-29 | Instructor | ||
1929-30 | Assistant | ||
1930-31 | Associate | ||
1931-38 | Professor | ||
1928 | Completed Ph.D. at the University of Chicago: Struensee and the Reform Movement in Denmark | ||
1928 | Married Evan Carroll. They have three children: Henry Steele, Eleanor Thomas McColl, and Elisabeth Carroll | ||
1928 | Began working with Samuel Eliot Morrison on Growth of American Republic | ||
1929 | Received American Historical Association's Herbert Baxter Adams Prize for most distinguished first book (PhD thesis) | ||
1930 | Growth of the American Republic published | ||
1934 | Documents of American History published | ||
1936 | The Great American Preacher: Theodore Parker published | ||
1939-56 | Taught at Columbia University | ||
1939-56 | Professor | ||
1956-59 | Adjunct Faculty | ||
1939 | Wrote series of New York Times Magazine articles advocating interventionist role in Europe | ||
1940 | Became involved with Committee to Defend American by Defending the Allies | ||
1941 | Bacon Lecturer at Boston University | ||
1940-49 | Wrote regular column for Scholastic with its middle and high school readers | ||
1942 | The Pocket History of the United States published, co-authored with Alan Nevins | ||
1942 | Richards Lecturer at University of Virginia | ||
1942 | American Studies at Cambridge University inaugurated | ||
1942 | Appointed to editorial board of The American Scholar | ||
1942-43 | Visiting Professor of American History at Cambridge University, Peterhouse College | ||
1943 | Majority Rule and Minority Rights published | ||
1943 | Appointed special representative to the Office of War Information “to fulfill lecture arrangements scheduled by the British Ministry of Information” | ||
1943 | Appointed to the War Department's Historical Branch Advisory Committee | ||
1943 October – 1944 January | Member of the nine historian panel to assess Nazi military power for the Army Air Force | ||
1944 | Recorded “nonpolitical talks” for the Office of War Information on American electoral process to be broadcast to Europeans on short wave radio | ||
1945 | The Pocket History of the United States is released under the title A Short History of the United States | ||
1947-48 | Pitt Professor at Cambridge University | ||
1947 | “Who is Loyal to America?” published in Harper's | ||
1948-51 | President of PEN | ||
1948 | The St. Nicholas Anthology compiled with Evan Commager | ||
1950 | The Blue and Grey published | ||
1950 | The American Mind published | ||
1951 | Lecturer at the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies | ||
1951 | Appointed to the Foreign Policy Association Editorial Advisory Committee | ||
1952 | Elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters | ||
1952 | Attended the Fulbright Conference on American Studies at Cambridge | ||
1952-53 | Held Harmsworth Professorship at Oxford University | ||
1953 | Lectured at Royal University Uppsala as Gottesman Professor | ||
1953 | “Guilt – and Innocence – By Association” published in The New York Times | ||
1954 | Europe and America Since 1942 published, co-authored with Geoffrey Bruun | ||
1954 | Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent published | ||
1954 | Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent earned Sidney Hillman Foundation Award | ||
1954 Nov 24 | Interviewed on CBS Chronoscope | ||
1955-56 | Fulbright Professor of American History at the University of Copenhagen | ||
1956-92 | Taught at Amherst College | ||
1956 | Winthrop Smith Professor of American History | ||
1957-61 | Amherst College Professor of American History and American Studies | ||
1962-70 | Winthrop Smith Professor of American History | ||
1971-92 | John Woodruff Simpson Lecturer in History at Amherst College and Emeritus Winthrop Smith Professor | ||
1993-98 | Emeritus John Woodruff Simpson Lecturer | ||
1956 | Gave lecture series at Port of Spain, Trinidad | ||
1958 | Lecturer at University of Israel | ||
1958 | The Spirit of Seventy Six published | ||
1960-61 | Received Guggenheim Fellowship to study American nationalism | ||
1960 | Appointed Gino Speranza Lecturer on American Traditions and Ideals at Columbia University | ||
1960 | Supported Senator John F. Kennedy as a member of Intellectuals for Kennedy | ||
1960 | Editorial advisory committee to the Woodrow Wilson Papers | ||
1961 | Historical consultant to NBC television series The Americans | ||
1961 | Appeared on ABC television show Meet the Professor | ||
1962 | Appointed to the United States National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | ||
1962 | Crusaders for Freedom published | ||
1962 | The American Character published | ||
1963 | Became Advisory Editor of History to Charles H. Merrill Books College Division | ||
1963 July 31 | The Dialogues of Allan Nevins and Henry Steele Commager broadcast on CBS Television Network | ||
1966 | Elected to the National Academy of Arts & Letters | ||
1966-71 | “Television the Medium” in TV Guide | ||
1967 | Freedom and Reform published to honor Commager | ||
1967 | Chaired the Massachusetts Dissenting Democrats | ||
1967 February 20 | Appeared before Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss foreign policy | ||
1968 | The Commonwealth of Learning published | ||
1967 | Became active with the National Committee for Effective Congress (NCEC) | ||
1968 Mar 28 | Evan (Carroll) Commager dies | ||
b. 1904 February 4 m. 1928 July 3 | |||
1968 | Was active with Citizens for Eugene McCarthy | ||
1970 | Donated nearly 6,000 volumes to Hampshire College Library, a gift valued at more than $39,000 | ||
1971 | Served Library of Congress as Honorary Consultant in American History | ||
1971 Mar 8 | Appeared before Senate Foreign Relations Committee on War Powers Act | ||
1972 Mar 1 | Addressed the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure on issue of Amnesty for Vietnam draft resister | ||
1972 May 17 | Received American Academy of Arts & Letters Gold Medal for History | ||
1972 | Participated in the filming of “GODSPELL Goes to Plymouth Plantation for Thanksgiving with Henry Steele Commager,” produced by WGBH-TV | ||
1973 Oct | New York Times headline "Commager Urges Nixon Impeachment" | ||
1974 | Britain Through American Eyes published | ||
1974 | Appears on Bill Moyer's Journal | ||
1974 June | “Five Grounds for Impeaching the President” published in New York Times | ||
1977 | Empire of Reason published | ||
1977 Spring | Held Patten Lectureship at Indiana University | ||
1979 July 14 | Marries Mary Powlesland | ||
1980 February 20 | Appears on The Dick Cavett Show | ||
1981 | Bullitt Visiting Professor of American History at the University of Washington in Seattle for the winter and spring quarters | ||
1984 | Awarded the Claude Pepper Award for contributing to social democracy | ||
1987 | Serves as Advisor to PBS Childhood series | ||
1988 | Appears on Bill Moyer's World of Ideas television series (WNET) | ||
1990 May 2 | Receives the Bruce Catton Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Society of American Historians | ||
1998 | Died in Amherst, MA |