Ariel Durant

Ariel Durant was a highly respected American researcher and writer. She focused her life on the study of history. Along with her husband, Will Durant, she became a famous coauthor. They worked together to create a massive project called The Story of Civilization. This series of books aimed to explain the long journey of human society. Through her writing, she helped people understand how different cultures and ideas shaped the world.

Her life began in Proskurov, which was part of the Russian Empire. Today, this place is known as Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine. She was born Chaya Kaufman to Jewish parents, Ethel and Joseph Kaufman. Her family included six older siblings. These were her sisters, Sarah, Mary, and Flora, and her brothers, Harry, Maurice, and Michael. In 1900, the family moved to London. They stayed there for several months before arriving in the United States in 1901.

Ariel's personal life and her professional life became linked at the Ferrer Modern School in New York City. While she was a student there, she met Will Durant. At the time, Will was a teacher at the school. They married on October 31, 1913, at New York City Hall. Ariel was 15 years old during the wedding, while Will was nearly 28. She famously roller-skated from her family's home in Harlem to reach the ceremony. Later, she legally changed her name to Ariel. This name came from a character in a play by William Shakespeare called The Tempest. Her husband chose it because he thought she was brave and mischievous.

The Durants built a family together through both birth and adoption. They had one daughter named Ethel Benvenuta Durant. They also adopted a son named Louis Richard Durant. Louis was actually the son of Ariel's sister, Flora Kaufman Lipschultz. He had lived in the Durants' home when he was very young. The couple spent much of their lives in Los Angeles, California. They even wrote a joint autobiography about their lives together. This book was 420 pages long and was published in 1978 by Simon & Schuster.

Their collaborative work earned them many prestigious honors in the field of history. In 1968, they were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. This award was for their book titled Rousseau and Revolution. This specific book was the tenth volume of their larger series, The Story of Civilization. In 1976, they received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. In 1977, President Gerald Ford presented them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Additionally, the city of Los Angeles named Ariel the "Woman of the Year."

The partnership between Ariel and Will was defined by their shared intellectual goals. They spent decades researching and writing to document the history of the world. Ariel once noted that their differences were actually what helped them grow. This suggests that their unique perspectives contributed to the depth of their research. Their work required immense cooperation to manage such a vast amount of information. They successfully turned complex historical events into a cohesive narrative for readers.

Ariel Durant passed away in 1981. Her husband, Will, died within two weeks of her that same year. They are both buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Their lives represent a significant contribution to 20th-century American history and literature. They remain important figures for anyone studying the history of philosophy and world civilizations. Their legacy lives on through the many volumes they completed together.