Thomas A. Desjardin
Thomas Desjardin | |
---|---|
Born | June 10, 1964 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Florida State University University of Maine |
Known for | American Civil War historian, Maine Commissioner of Education |
Thomas A. (Tom) Desjardin (born 1964) is an American historian. He has published books on the American Civil War (including two monographs on Joshua Chamberlain) and American Revolutionary War. He also was director of Maine's State Park system, and briefly was Maine's Acting Commissioner of the Department of Education.[1] He was born at St. Mary's Hospital, now Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center (Maine) in Lewiston, Maine.
Academic career
Desjardin earned a bachelor's degree in government and a master's degree in communication from Florida State University, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He earned a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Maine and has taught at his alma mater (FSU), at Bowdoin College, and the University of Maine. He is also a former fellow at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City. [2]
Career
A former archivist/historian at
In 2014, Maine governor Paul LePage appointed Desjardin to serve as the state's Acting Commissioner of Education.
"I met Dr. Thomas A. Desjardin in 1992 when he was a graduate student at the University of Maine. It took me ten seconds to realize that Tom is a gifted, knowledgeable, yet skeptical student of the Gettysburg Campaign. Tom has also presented lectures to my Brandeis students (lending his wisdom as much to me as to them)." Dr. Jeffrey C. Hall, Winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine[3]
Books
- Stand Firm Ye Boys From Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-514082-6[4]
- These Honored Dead: How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory (DaCapo Press) ISBN 0-306-81267-3
- Through A Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775 (St. Martins Press) ISBN 0-312-33904-6
- Joshua L. Chamberlain: A Handbook (Greystone Communications) ISBN 1-892636-15-8
- Joshua L. Chamberlain: A Life in Letters (Osprey Publishing) ISBN 1-84908-559-5
- The Autobiography of Joshua L. Chamberlain (Down East Books) To be published 2024
Television and film
1993 - Feature Film Gettysburg (1993 film). Historical advisor to actor Jeff Daniels - In 2011, Daniels said publicly of his role as Joshua Chamberlain: "For me, whatever people think that role was, it is because of Tom Desjardin."
1999, 2006, 2013 C-SPAN's Book TV
1999 -
2000 -
2000 -
2015 - The Gettysburg Address (film) - In Production.
Seminole Trivia
While a student at FSU in 1984, Desjardin was the emcee at a pep rally and introduced the famous "Seminole War Chant" to FSU fans for the first time.[5]
References
- ^ "Tom Desjardin named Acting Education Commissioner". January 2015.
- ^ "Past Fellows | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History".
- ISBN 978-0-253-00329-4
- ^ "The Maine lesson of Gettysburg: Real history is never so romantic as reel | Martin Pengelly". The Guardian. 2 July 2013.
- ^ "The Seminole War Chant" (PDF).
Sources
- The Florida State Times https://news.fsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fstimes-2008-04-01.pdf