David McCullough (born July 7, 1933) is an American historian and author. McCullough is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and noted for his biographies of the Founding Fathers.
McCullough is twice winner of the National Book Award and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He has been called a "master of the art of narrative history." His books have been praised for their exceptional narrative sweep, their scholarship and insight into American life, and for their literary distinction. His books include The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path between the Seas, Mornings on Horseback, Brave Companions, and Truman. As may be said of few writers, none of his books has ever been out of print.
McCullough is as well twice winner of the prestigious Francis Parkman Prize . For his work overall he has been honored by the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, the St. Louis Literary Award , the Carl Sandburg Award , and the New York Public Library's Literary Lion Award . In a crowded, productive career, Mr. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer, and familiar presence on public television -- as host of "Smithsonian World," "The American Experience," and narrator of numerous documentaries including "The Civil War" and "Napoleon." He is a past president of the Society of American Historians. He has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received 31 honorary degrees.
McCullough was educated at Pittsburgh and at Yale, where he was graduated with honors in English literature. He is an avid reader, traveler, and has enjoyed a lifelong interest in art and architecture. He is as well a landscape painter. McCullough lives in West Tisbury, Massachusetts with his wife Rosalee Barnes McCullough. They have five children and 17 grandchildren.