France
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Jacques Barzun
Créteil, France
Archival Overview
French-American cultural historian and philosopher of education who served as Provost of Columbia University and authored the monumental bestseller From Dawn to Decadence at age ninety-two.
Biographical Record
Jacques Martin Barzun was born near Paris to an avant-garde artistic couple and moved to the United States in 1920. Graduating first in his class from Columbia University in 1927, he spent nearly five decades on its faculty as professor and provost.
Barzun was a champion of the liberal arts tradition and a brilliant critic of academic pedantry. In 2000, at age ninety-two, he published his 800-page opus 'From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present', which became a surprise New York Times bestseller. In 2003, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Key Life Milestones
Provost of Columbia University
Appointed Provost, leading the university through educational modernizations during the height of the Cold War.
From Dawn to Decadence Bestseller
Published his monumental 500-year history of Western culture at age 92, achieving worldwide critical acclaim.
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialSan Antonio, United States