Will Durant

Will Durant was a writer.

He wrote many books about the past.

He worked with his wife, Ariel. They wrote a very big story. It had eleven books.

They wrote about art and ideas. They also wrote about how people lived. This helped many people learn.

They won a big prize for their work. They also met the President. They worked hard for many years.

Their books are still very famous today. Do you like stories about the past?

Will Durant was a famous American writer.

He was a historian and a philosopher. A philosopher is someone who thinks about big ideas. He was born in Massachusetts in 1885. He studied at Columbia University and earned a doctorate.

Durant is best known for his work with his wife, Ariel Durant. Together, they wrote a massive series called The Story of Civilization.

This series has eleven volumes. It tells the history of the West. They wrote about art, religion, and how people lived. They did not just write about wars. They wanted to show the whole story of human life.

Their work was very successful. They won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968. They also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

Durant also cared about fairness. He helped start a movement for a Declaration of Interdependence. This was meant to fight against racial intolerance. He and Ariel loved each other very much. They worked side by side for many years.

Will Durant was a famous American historian and philosopher.

He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, in 1885. His parents, Joseph and Mary, were French-Canadian Catholics. Will studied at Saint Peter's College in New Jersey. Later, he went to Columbia University in New York. He earned his doctorate there in 1917. Before he was a famous writer, he taught Latin and French. He also worked as a reporter for a newspaper. These early jobs helped him learn about the world. He wanted to understand how people live and think.

Durant is most famous for writing a huge series of books. He worked on this with his wife, Ariel Durant. They called it The Story of Civilization. It has eleven volumes in total. They started writing it after a successful book called The Story of Philosophy. That book was published in 1926. It became a bestseller and gave them money to travel. This travel helped them research history for forty years. They wanted to show the whole story of human life. They did not just focus on wars or leaders.

Writing the series was a very big job. The Durants wanted to practice what they called "integral history." This means they looked at the whole picture. They wrote about art, religion, and philosophy. They also wrote about how everyday people lived. They looked at a period of 2,500 years. The books cover the history of Western civilization. They also looked at how mass communication grew. They wanted to make history feel alive for everyone. They did not want history to be just for experts.

Their hard work earned them many great honors.

In 1968, they won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. This was for their book Rousseau and Revolution. In 1977, President Gerald Ford gave them the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Durant also cared about making the world a better place. He helped start a movement for a Declaration of Interdependence. This movement aimed to fight against racial intolerance. A big dinner in 1945 helped launch this idea. Many famous people attended the event to show support.

Durant's life was full of big ideas and deep feelings.

He visited India in 1930 to learn for his books. He saw much poverty there and wrote about it. He wrote a book called The Case for India. He also wrote about Russia after visiting that country. Will and Ariel were very close to each other. They even wrote an autobiography together. Ariel died in October 1981. Will died just two weeks later. He was 96 years old. He was buried next to his wife in Los Angeles.

Will Durant was a prominent American historian and philosopher.

He is best known for his massive eleven-volume series, The Story of Civilization. This work explores the history of both Eastern and Western civilizations. Durant aimed to unify historical knowledge into a single, humanized narrative. He wanted to move away from fragmented, specialized studies that only experts could understand. Instead, he sought to provide a total perspective on how human societies develop. This approach allowed him to make history relevant for contemporary readers everywhere.

Durant’s writing process was a lifelong collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant.

Their success began with a book titled The Story of Philosophy, published in 1926. This book was originally a series of educational pamphlets for workers. It became a massive bestseller, providing the financial independence they needed. This wealth allowed them to travel the world several times over four decades. They used these travels to research the deep history of human culture. Their partnership turned a simple series of lectures into a monumental literary achievement.

To write The Story of Civilization, the Durants practiced a method called "integral history."

They did not just focus on political leaders or major wars. Instead, they examined the rise of art, religion, and philosophy. They also studied the living conditions of everyday people. Their work covered a vast period of 2,500 years of Western history. They even included the development of mass communication within their narrative. This method ensured that the history felt complete and interconnected.

Durant’s early life and education shaped his complex views on society. He was born in 1885 in North Adams, Massachusetts. His parents were French-Canadian Catholics who had emigrated from Quebec. After graduating from Saint Peter's College in 1907, he explored various philosophies. In 1905, he experimented with socialist ideas. However, after World War I, he began to see a "lust for power" in all politics. He grew to believe that a person must be a "deliberate self." To him, this meant rising above impulsive passions to serve a moral cause.

During his travels, Durant witnessed significant global struggles and injustices. In 1930, he visited British India to gather research for his books. He was shocked by the extreme poverty and starvation he observed there. This led him to write The Case for India, a book criticizing British rule. He described the conquest as the destruction of a high civilization by a greedy trading company. He also spent time studying Russia, writing books like The Lesson of Russia. These experiences added a layer of moral weight to his historical writing.

The Durants received many prestigious honors for their contributions to literature. In 1968, they won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. This award was specifically for their tenth volume, Rousseau and Revolution. In 1977, President Gerald Ford awarded them the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They also received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1976. These awards recognized their ability to communicate complex ideas to a wide audience.

Beyond history, Durant worked to promote social change and moral standards. In 1944, he was approached by leaders of the Jewish and Christian faiths. Instead of a purely religious movement, he proposed a Declaration of Interdependence. This movement aimed to fight against racial intolerance and raise moral standards. A large gala in 1945 launched the organization, attended by over 400 people. This event included famous figures like Bette Davis and Thomas Mann. The declaration was eventually read into the Congressional Record in 1945.

The final years of the Durants were marked by their deep personal bond. They wrote a dual autobiography detailing their intense love for one another. When Ariel died in October 1981, Will was also very ill. He discovered of her death while watching the evening news. He passed away only two weeks later, shortly after his 96th birthday. Will was buried alongside Ariel in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Their combined legacy remains one of the most successful series in historiography.