Richard Norton Smith
This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Richard Norton Smith" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2022) |
Richard Norton Smith | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Leominster, Massachusetts, United States | October 2, 1953
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Genres | history, biography |
Richard Norton Smith (born October 2, 1953) is an American historian and author, specializing in U.S. presidents and other political figures. In the past, he worked as a freelance writer for The Washington Post, and worked with U.S. Senators Edward Brooke and Bob Dole.
Early life and education
Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 1953, Smith graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1975 with a degree in government. Following graduation he worked as a White House intern and as a freelance writer for The Washington Post. He became a speech-writer for Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke, and then Senator Bob Dole, with whom he collaborated on numerous projects over the years.
Career
Smith's first major book, Thomas E. Dewey and His Times, was a finalist for the 1983
Between 1987 and 2001, Smith served as director of the
In December 2001, Smith became director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. There he supervised construction of the Institute's permanent home and launched a Presidential Lecture Series and other programs. In October, 2003 he was appointed the first Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a four-building complex in Springfield, Illinois.
In 2009, Smith was invited by the
In 2014 Smith published On His Own Terms: A life of Nelson Rockefeller. Smith took 14 years to write the book and said that he spent about $250,000 of his own money on the project.[4] In an interview with C-SPAN, he said that Random House provided an advance of $50,000 for the book.[4]
Smith's most recent book, released in April 2023, is An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. In 2001 Mr. Smith created Presidents and Patriots History Tours. Twice a year he leads historical tours emphasizing American presidents and history seldom found in the text books.
Works
References
- ^ "Historian Richard Norton Smith - Part 1 | C-SPAN.org". C-span.org. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Patriarch". Booknotes interview on C-SPAN. February 21, 1993. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- John F. Kennedy School of Government. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- ^ a b Brian Lamb. Q&A; C-SPAN. October 19, 2014.