Will Durant

William James Durant was born in 1885 in North Adams, Massachusetts, to French-Canadian Catholic parents. He studied in Jersey City, New Jersey, and at first prepared for the priesthood, as his mother hoped, before turning to philosophy. He taught at the Ferrer Modern School in New York City from 1911 to 1913, when he resigned and married Ariel Kaufman, later his collaborator. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University in 1917 and lectured on philosophy and history to adult audiences. Some of his lectures appeared as Little Blue Books, educational pamphlets for working people, and they grew into The Story of Philosophy (1926), a lively introduction to the great philosophers that became a bestseller and made it possible for him to write full time. He then began The Story of Civilization, an eleven-volume history of the world published from 1935 to 1975, on which Ariel worked with him and was later credited as co-author. The tenth volume, Rousseau and Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968. In 1977 the Durants received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ariel died in October 1981, and Will died two weeks later.

Will Durant is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: Raised by French-Canadian Catholic parents. Source: Wikipedia

See also: Ariel Durant