WW Abbot

William Wright Abbot III (born May 20, 1922 in Louisville , Georgia ; died August 31, 2009 in Charlottesville , Virginia ) was an American historian.

career

Abbot first studied at the University of Georgia ( AB 1943) and then served in the US Navy in the Pacific and the Mediterranean during World War II . In 1946 he continued his studies at Duke University under the GI Bill ( MA 1949, Ph.D. 1953). He began teaching in 1953 as an assistant professor at the College of William & Mary , and in 1963 he was appointed full professor here. In the meantime, he also taught at Northwestern University (1959) and Rice University (1961–1962). In 1966 he moved to the University of Virginia , where he was James Madison Professor of History until his retirement in 1992 .

Abbot's research focused on American colonial history. His greatest merit is his longstanding editing of the Papers of George Washington , an edition of the collected writings of George Washington begun in 1968 at the University of Virginia. From 1977 to 1992 he was the editor in charge of the series and was still responsible for individual volumes after his retirement; at the time of his death around 50 of the 80 planned volumes in the series had appeared.

Works

• The Royal Governors of Georgia, 1754-1775 . University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 1959.
• The Colonial Origins of the United States, 1607-1763 . Wiley, New York 1975.

Awards

• Honorary Doctorate (LHD) from the College of William & Mary , 1998.

Web links

• T. Rees Shapiro: WW Abbot, 87; U-Va. Professor, Editor Opened Window Into 1st President's Mind - Obituary in the Washington Post September 9, 2009.