Potter, David M(orris) (1910–1971)

US historian. A revered mentor and one of the preeminent historians of his generation, he is known primarily for his books, articles, and lectures on the American South, especially on the causes of the Civil War; his interdisciplinary work on the American character, historiography, and other subjects led to his reputation as one of the last ‘Renaissance men’ in his discipline. He made his mark with his first book, Lincoln and His Party in the Secession Crisis (1942). The Impending Crisis (published posthumously in 1976) received the Pulitzer Prize in History for 1977.

Potter was born in Augusta, Georgia. Educated at Emory (AB 1932), Yale (MA 1933; PhD 1940), and Oxford (MA 1947), he taught at the University of Mississippi (1936–38), Yale (1942–61), and Stanford University (1961–71).