Turner, Frederick Jackson 1861-1932
Professor, Author and Historian
Frederick Jackson Turner, 1911
Quarter-length portrait of Frederick Jackson Turner. View the original source document: WHI 28356
b. Portage, Wisconsin, 1861
d. San Marino, California, March, 1932
Frederick Jackson Turner was a professor, historian and author. He was the son of Andrew Jackson Turner. He attended high school in Portage, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1888. He received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1890.
University of Wisconsin
He was assistant professor of history at the University of Wisconsin from 1889 to 1891, professor of history from 1891 to 1892 and professor of American history 1892 to 1910. During his tenure at the University of Wisconsin, Turner built a strong department of effective scholars that trained a number of students who later became leaders in the history profession.
Harvard
He was professor of history at Harvard until his retirement in 1924, when he returned to Madison. He moved to Pasadena, California several years later. He was a research associate at the Huntington Library at the time of his death.
Legacy
As an historian, Turner did pioneer work in the history of the West. He emphasized the influence of the frontier and of sectionalism in American history. His ideas became known as the "Turner thesis." He first presented them in "Significance of the Frontier in American History," a paper read before the American Historical Association in 1893. He was the author of several collections of historical essays, such as "The Frontier in American History" (1920), and The Significance of Sectionalism in American History, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. He was president of the American Historical Association from 1909 to 1910. A magnetic teacher and a researcher of uncommon penetration and insight, Turner's teachings and interpretations of American history have had a profound impact on American historians for over a generation.
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Dict. Amer. Biog.; Who's Who in Amer., 16 (1939); Wis. Mag. Hist., 15, 25; Madison Wis. State Journal, Mar. 15, 1932; Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News, Mar. 19, 1932.