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David McCullough has died. He was a bravura historian and public intellectual whose biographies of Harry Truman and John Adams won Pulitzer Prizes, and whose best-selling stories of American accomplishment were complemented by his work as a public television host and narrator for popular movies and documentaries, including Ken Burns' “The Civil War.”

McCullough died Sunday at his home in Hingham, Mass., according to his publishers Simon and Schuster. He was 89 years old. 

The subjects McCullough tackled were massive. The building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal. The shaping of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He wrote about epic figures, from Theodore Roosevelt to the Wright Brothers. McCullough seemed undaunted by his topics; they were fun for him and he made the subjects enchanting for readers. Perhaps only a McCullough treatment of Truman could've topped the 

 best-seller list for nearly a year; the biography was a publishing sensation in 1992. 

"To many people, the figures, the main characters or protagonists of the drama of our founding years are perceived as almost like characters in a costume pageant with their powdered hair and their ruffled shirts and satin britches and the rest," McCullough told NPR's “Talk of the Nation” in a 2006 discussion of the Revolutionary War. "But they were nothing like that. And they weren't gods, they weren't superhuman. They were very human beings. And each of them had his flaws, his failings, and his mistakes."

David McCullough was brought up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and studied English literature at Yale University, where he developed a friendship with a professor, playwright Thorton Wilder, who wrote the Americana classic “Our Town.” Although he thought he might become a playwright too, McCullough developed a taste for research while working in magazines in the 1950s.

As well as writing numerous acclaimed books of history, McCullough narrated the 2003 film “Seabiscuit.” 

 and, in 2006, became a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award.

. "As an historian, he paints with words," the citation read. "Giving us pictures of the American people that live, breathe, and above all, confront the fundamental issues of courage, achievement, and moral character."  

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He wrote acclaimed books about Harry Truman and John Adams, along with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal. He also was the authoritative voice narrating TV films such as 

He wrote acclaimed books about Harry Truman and John Adams, along with the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal. He also was the authoritative voice narrating TV films such as The Civil War in 1990.


Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough has died

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