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| William S. McFeely, author of Pulitzer-winning biography of U.S. Grant, dies at 89 | |
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| William S. McFeely, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose biographies of Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass were praised as literary landmarks that explored the psychological complexities of two major 19th-century figures, died Dec. 11 at a hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. He was 89. | William S. McFeely, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose biographies of Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass were praised as literary landmarks that explored the psychological complexities of two major 19th-century figures, died Dec. 11 at a hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. He was 89. |
| The cause was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, said his son, W. Drake McFeely. | The cause was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, said his son, W. Drake McFeely. |
| Dr. McFeely worked in banking before turning to academia, inspired in part by the emerging civil rights movement of the 1960s. He went on to help found one of the country’s first African American studies programs, at Yale University, and was considered a leading authority on the Civil War and Reconstruction. | Dr. McFeely worked in banking before turning to academia, inspired in part by the emerging civil rights movement of the 1960s. He went on to help found one of the country’s first African American studies programs, at Yale University, and was considered a leading authority on the Civil War and Reconstruction. |
| After studying at Yale with C. Vann Woodward, considered the dean of historians of the South, Dr. McFeely began a scholarly career that took him from Yale to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and the University of Georgia. He gained acclaim for his Pulitzer-winning 1981 biography of Grant, the Union Army Civil War hero who later served two terms as president. | After studying at Yale with C. Vann Woodward, considered the dean of historians of the South, Dr. McFeely began a scholarly career that took him from Yale to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and the University of Georgia. He gained acclaim for his Pulitzer-winning 1981 biography of Grant, the Union Army Civil War hero who later served two terms as president. |
| “McFeely’s biography is the first full-scale treatment of all aspects of Grant’s life,” Newsweek book critic Peter Prescott wrote, “the first to attempt a reconciliation of the warrior and the statesman, to explain the psychology that produced such astonishing success and failure. The portrait that emerges — sympathetic yet firm about its subject’s shortcomings — seems to me entirely successful.” | “McFeely’s biography is the first full-scale treatment of all aspects of Grant’s life,” Newsweek book critic Peter Prescott wrote, “the first to attempt a reconciliation of the warrior and the statesman, to explain the psychology that produced such astonishing success and failure. The portrait that emerges — sympathetic yet firm about its subject’s shortcomings — seems to me entirely successful.” |
| Grant had often been depicted in either laudatory or disdainful terms — as a brilliant military tactician or as a drunken boor who was a failure at everything except war. With “revealing pointers and subtle theorizing,” historian Marcus Cunliffe wrote in the New York Times Book Review, Dr. McFeely suggested that Grant’s success as a leader derived from a deep-seated empathy with his soldiers and everyday citizens. | Grant had often been depicted in either laudatory or disdainful terms — as a brilliant military tactician or as a drunken boor who was a failure at everything except war. With “revealing pointers and subtle theorizing,” historian Marcus Cunliffe wrote in the New York Times Book Review, Dr. McFeely suggested that Grant’s success as a leader derived from a deep-seated empathy with his soldiers and everyday citizens. |
| “Grant had a gift given to few men; he could reach ordinary people without condescending to them,” Dr. McFeely wrote. “He was, they sensed, one of them. They saw themselves in him. They loved him for both his failures and his successes. They saw in him their own aspirations.” | “Grant had a gift given to few men; he could reach ordinary people without condescending to them,” Dr. McFeely wrote. “He was, they sensed, one of them. They saw themselves in him. They loved him for both his failures and his successes. They saw in him their own aspirations.” |
| In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, the Grant biography received the Francis Parkman Prize, an annual award from the Society of American Historians for a historical study of exceptional literary merit. | In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, the Grant biography received the Francis Parkman Prize, an annual award from the Society of American Historians for a historical study of exceptional literary merit. |
| Dr. McFeely’s next major work examined the life of Douglass, who was born into slavery in Maryland and became a leading writer and orator in support of the abolitionist movement. In his 1991 biography, Dr. McFeely noted that Douglass, one of the most renowned public figures of his time, projected a sense of racial pride that was rare for the time. | Dr. McFeely’s next major work examined the life of Douglass, who was born into slavery in Maryland and became a leading writer and orator in support of the abolitionist movement. In his 1991 biography, Dr. McFeely noted that Douglass, one of the most renowned public figures of his time, projected a sense of racial pride that was rare for the time. |
| “It has been said that he ran away from being black,” Dr. McFeely wrote. “The opposite is true. Every time he walked up to a lectern to speak, he was seen: by his very presence he not only announced that he was black but also instructed all who looked at him that they were not to see that fact pejoratively.” | “It has been said that he ran away from being black,” Dr. McFeely wrote. “The opposite is true. Every time he walked up to a lectern to speak, he was seen: by his very presence he not only announced that he was black but also instructed all who looked at him that they were not to see that fact pejoratively.” |
| The book, which Princeton University historian Nell Irvin Painter called “absolutely nonpareil,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer and won several other awards. | The book, which Princeton University historian Nell Irvin Painter called “absolutely nonpareil,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer and won several other awards. |
| “This biography ― tender and critical, respectful yet observant,” Painter wrote in the Boston Globe, “presents a character of Frederick Douglass that is more thoroughly human than seemed possible in careful scholarship, all without diminishing a great man’s stature.” | “This biography ― tender and critical, respectful yet observant,” Painter wrote in the Boston Globe, “presents a character of Frederick Douglass that is more thoroughly human than seemed possible in careful scholarship, all without diminishing a great man’s stature.” |
| William Shield McFeely was born Sept. 25, 1930, in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. His father was a grocery-chain executive, his mother a homemaker and volunteer. | William Shield McFeely was born Sept. 25, 1930, in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. His father was a grocery-chain executive, his mother a homemaker and volunteer. |
| He said his interest in race relations was spurred by a childhood incident in which a school picnic was almost canceled because one of his classmates was black. The picnic ended up being held at Dr. McFeely’s childhood home. | He said his interest in race relations was spurred by a childhood incident in which a school picnic was almost canceled because one of his classmates was black. The picnic ended up being held at Dr. McFeely’s childhood home. |
| After graduating in 1952 from Amherst College in Massachusetts, Dr. McFeely worked in New York for a forerunner of the Citigroup bank. He often traveled to country banks in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, he told the Boston Globe in 1999, where “I’d find myself walking the streets of the town and getting a sense of it. I have got, I think, the kind of curiosity that makes me able to connect the formal historical past with how people relate to it in the present.” | After graduating in 1952 from Amherst College in Massachusetts, Dr. McFeely worked in New York for a forerunner of the Citigroup bank. He often traveled to country banks in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, he told the Boston Globe in 1999, where “I’d find myself walking the streets of the town and getting a sense of it. I have got, I think, the kind of curiosity that makes me able to connect the formal historical past with how people relate to it in the present.” |
| As the civil rights rights movement gained momentum, he left banking after nine years to enter graduate school at Yale, where he received a master’s degree in 1962 and doctorate in American studies in 1966. | As the civil rights rights movement gained momentum, he left banking after nine years to enter graduate school at Yale, where he received a master’s degree in 1962 and doctorate in American studies in 1966. |
| His dissertation, which became his first book, was about O.O. Howard, a Union Army general who led the Freedmen’s Bureau after the Civil War, helping enslaved people during Reconstruction. Howard also helped found Howard University, which is named for him, and served as the university’s president. | His dissertation, which became his first book, was about O.O. Howard, a Union Army general who led the Freedmen’s Bureau after the Civil War, helping enslaved people during Reconstruction. Howard also helped found Howard University, which is named for him, and served as the university’s president. |
| At Yale in the late 1960s, Dr. McFeely helped launch an African American studies program. One of his students, renowned scholar and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., told the Yale Daily News that his intellectual career was “ignited by this white guy who taught African-American history.” | At Yale in the late 1960s, Dr. McFeely helped launch an African American studies program. One of his students, renowned scholar and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., told the Yale Daily News that his intellectual career was “ignited by this white guy who taught African-American history.” |
| In 1970, Dr. McFeely moved from Yale to Mount Holyoke College, where he taught for 16 years. He was at the University of Georgia from 1986 until his retirement in 1997. | In 1970, Dr. McFeely moved from Yale to Mount Holyoke College, where he taught for 16 years. He was at the University of Georgia from 1986 until his retirement in 1997. |
| He began to write books in a more personal style, including “Sapelo’s People” (1994), about the modern-day descendants of slaves living on a Georgia barrier island. He also became an expert witness in trials, particularly in death-penalty cases. | He began to write books in a more personal style, including “Sapelo’s People” (1994), about the modern-day descendants of slaves living on a Georgia barrier island. He also became an expert witness in trials, particularly in death-penalty cases. |
| He questioned whether black defendants could get a fair trial in courtrooms displaying the Georgia state flag, which contained a representation of the Confederate battle flag. (Georgia changed the design of its state flag in 2003.) | He questioned whether black defendants could get a fair trial in courtrooms displaying the Georgia state flag, which contained a representation of the Confederate battle flag. (Georgia changed the design of its state flag in 2003.) |
| In 1999, Dr. McFeely published “Proximity to Death,” a book about lawyers who handled death-penalty cases. He retired to Massachusetts and, in 2006, published his final book, a biographical study of painter Thomas Eakins. | In 1999, Dr. McFeely published “Proximity to Death,” a book about lawyers who handled death-penalty cases. He retired to Massachusetts and, in 2006, published his final book, a biographical study of painter Thomas Eakins. |
| His wife of 66 years, author and librarian Mary Drake McFeely, died in 2018. Survivors include three children, Jennifer McFeely of New York, W. Drake McFeely of Chappaqua, N.Y., and Eliza McFeely of Ewing, N.J.; one sister; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandson. | His wife of 66 years, author and librarian Mary Drake McFeely, died in 2018. Survivors include three children, Jennifer McFeely of New York, W. Drake McFeely of Chappaqua, N.Y., and Eliza McFeely of Ewing, N.J.; one sister; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandson. |
| While teaching at Yale, Dr. McFeely often toured the South, seeking to recruit promising African American students and professors. In the classroom, he was sometimes challenged by students, Gates later recalled, who questioned his authority to teach black history. | While teaching at Yale, Dr. McFeely often toured the South, seeking to recruit promising African American students and professors. In the classroom, he was sometimes challenged by students, Gates later recalled, who questioned his authority to teach black history. |
| “At the end of each lecture,” Gates said in a 2013 forum at the Brookings Institution, “somebody black would stand up and give him a hard time for being white. And they would just be very abusive and very rude . . . how dare he teach this course? And he said he was working hard to hire a black man, but until then, shut up and take your notes and pass your exam.” | “At the end of each lecture,” Gates said in a 2013 forum at the Brookings Institution, “somebody black would stand up and give him a hard time for being white. And they would just be very abusive and very rude . . . how dare he teach this course? And he said he was working hard to hire a black man, but until then, shut up and take your notes and pass your exam.” |
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