Allan Nevins

Joseph Allan Nevins (May 20, 1890 – March 5, 1971) was an American historian and journalist, renowned for his extensive work on the history of the Civil War and his biographies of such figures as President Grover Cleveland, Hamilton Fish, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller, as well as his public service.

Early and family life and education

Nevins was born in Camp Point, Illinois, the son of Emma (née Stahl) and Joseph Allan Nevins, whom he later described as a stern Presbyterian farmer. His father was of Scottish heritage and his mother German. After education in local public schools, Nevins attended the University of Illinois, where he earned an M.A. in English in 1913.

He married Mary Fleming (Richardson) in 1916, and the couple ultimately had two daughters, Anne Elizabeth and Meredith.

Career

Nevins wrote his first book, The Life of Robert Rogers (1914) (about a Colonial American frontiersman and Loyalist) and a history of the University of Illinois (1917) during his postgraduate studies in that institution.