In those retrospectives of the past 10 years the media largely overlooked historians
[Dave Lieberson is an HNN intern.]
With the decade officially over we are forced to endure the lists created by mainstream media reminding us of the many notable people who have passed away. While they include many historically influential men and women like President Reagan and journalist Walter Cronkite, the lists are also inflated by the many not-so-relevant pop stars, actors, musicians and sports stars. Lost from the ranks of great historians in the last decade were, among others, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., author and historian of liberalism in the twentieth century; John Hope Franklin, historian of race relations and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and Louis “Studs” Terkel, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Good War . But where do our gatekeepers of history stack up at the end of the decade?
If we just look to mainstream media, we would conclude that none of these historians passed away in the last ten years. NBC, in its retrospective of the last decade, formulated a list of the 104 most important people that the world lost. While you can find the likes of Anna Nicole Smith, Bernie Mac, Dale Earnhardt and even Oxi-Clean pusher Billy Mays, none of the above-referenced historians found their way onto the list. The death of John Hope Franklin appears in some publications among the notable deaths of 2009, but his name cannot be found on a single breakdown of notable deaths from the past ten years. Author and historian Louis “Studs” Terkel failed to appear on any list compiled on the internet by mainstream media outlets around the Country. Arthur Schlesinger received a mention in a New York Times article about his death earlier this decade. However, the same article mentioned 193 other notable deaths including 24 actors and actresses, 27 musicians, 14 athletes and 5 comedians.
Without question, the world lost many great men and women over the last ten years. One of the most disappointing aspects of these losses is the media’s decision to omit the deaths of some of last century’s greatest historians. Historians have been given the momentous task of reminding the public of what came before, and how we got to where we are today…but who will remember them?
With the decade officially over we are forced to endure the lists created by mainstream media reminding us of the many notable people who have passed away. While they include many historically influential men and women like President Reagan and journalist Walter Cronkite, the lists are also inflated by the many not-so-relevant pop stars, actors, musicians and sports stars. Lost from the ranks of great historians in the last decade were, among others, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., author and historian of liberalism in the twentieth century; John Hope Franklin, historian of race relations and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and Louis “Studs” Terkel, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Good War . But where do our gatekeepers of history stack up at the end of the decade?
If we just look to mainstream media, we would conclude that none of these historians passed away in the last ten years. NBC, in its retrospective of the last decade, formulated a list of the 104 most important people that the world lost. While you can find the likes of Anna Nicole Smith, Bernie Mac, Dale Earnhardt and even Oxi-Clean pusher Billy Mays, none of the above-referenced historians found their way onto the list. The death of John Hope Franklin appears in some publications among the notable deaths of 2009, but his name cannot be found on a single breakdown of notable deaths from the past ten years. Author and historian Louis “Studs” Terkel failed to appear on any list compiled on the internet by mainstream media outlets around the Country. Arthur Schlesinger received a mention in a New York Times article about his death earlier this decade. However, the same article mentioned 193 other notable deaths including 24 actors and actresses, 27 musicians, 14 athletes and 5 comedians.
Without question, the world lost many great men and women over the last ten years. One of the most disappointing aspects of these losses is the media’s decision to omit the deaths of some of last century’s greatest historians. Historians have been given the momentous task of reminding the public of what came before, and how we got to where we are today…but who will remember them?