Origins & Early Life

Vernon Louis Parrington (August 3, 1871 – June 16, 1929) was an American literary historian, scholar, and college football coach. The first two volumes of his is three-volume history of American letters, Main Currents in American Thought, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one of the most influential books for American historians of its time. The third volume approximately half completed was completed by his associates and students after his sudden death in 1929. Parrington taught at the College of Emporia, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Washington.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He was also the head football coach at the College of Emporia from 1893 to 1896 and Oklahoma from 1897 to 1900. Parrington founded the American studies movement in 1927. Born in Aurora, Illinois, to a Republican family that soon moved to Emporia, Kansas, Parrington attended the College of Emporia and Harvard University, receiving his B.A. from the latter institution in 1893. He did not undertake graduate study.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He was appalled by the hardships of Kansas farmers in the 1890s, and began moving left. He began his career teaching English and coaching football at the College of...

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