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Hans L. Trefousse, Historian and Author, Dies at 88

...Hans L. Trefousse was known for his well-received books about both men. A specialist in Civil War and Reconstruction-era history, he died on Jan. 8, at 88, at his home on Staten Island, his son, Roger, said.

His books include “Impeachment of a President: Andrew Johnson, the Blacks, and Reconstruction”; “Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth-Century Egalitarian,” about the congressman who led the impeachment effort; and “Rutherford B. Hayes.”

At his death, Professor Trefousse was distinguished professor emeritus of history at Brooklyn College, where he taught full time from 1950 until 1998. He also taught at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Hans Louis Trefousse (pronounced TRAY-foos) was born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt on Dec. 18, 1921. His family left Germany in the mid-1930s and settled on Staten Island. Mr. Trefousse received a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York and master’s and doctoral degrees in history from Columbia....
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