Philip Alexander Bruce
Encyclopedia
Philip Alexander Bruce was an American historian who specialized in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia
. Author of over a dozen volumes of history, Bruce's scope ranged from the first Virginia settlements to the early 20th century. He is notable for the first complete history of the University of Virginia
, descriptions of the lives of the original settlers of Virginia, and for his insights into Thomas Jefferson
's wide-ranging intellect.
Bruce was born into a plantation family in Charlotte County, Virginia
; his younger brother was William Cabell Bruce
, later a US Senator from Maryland. Philip studied literature and history at the University of Virginia, graduating in 1876; he went on to get an LL.B. from Harvard University
in 1879.
Bruce began a long career as a published historian in 1889 with the publication of The Plantation Negro as a Freeman. His most notable research came with a series of three works on seventeenth century Virginia, covering the economic, social, and institutional frameworks of the first Virginia settlers, published between 1896 and 1910.
Bruce was the corresponding secretary of the Virginia Historical Society
. He was awarded honorary doctorates by both The College of William and Mary and Washington and Lee University
.
In the last decade of his life, Bruce authored a five-volume history of the first hundred years of the University of Virginia, which is credited for expanding the historical perspective on the talents of Thomas Jefferson, and co-authored a five-volume history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He died after a long illness at his home near Charlottesville. He is remembered for attempts to raise the consciousness of Northern readers to Virginia’s contributions to the history of the United States through a series of letters to the New York Times on such topics as the claim of Virginia's House of Burgesses as the second elected legislature after the British Parliament and the importance of Jamestown as the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Author of over a dozen volumes of history, Bruce's scope ranged from the first Virginia settlements to the early 20th century. He is notable for the first complete history of the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, descriptions of the lives of the original settlers of Virginia, and for his insights into Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
's wide-ranging intellect.
Bruce was born into a plantation family in Charlotte County, Virginia
Charlotte County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,472 people, 4,951 households, and 3,435 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 5,734 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
; his younger brother was William Cabell Bruce
William Cabell Bruce
William Cabell Bruce was an American politician and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who represented the State of Maryland in the United States Senate from 1923 to 1929....
, later a US Senator from Maryland. Philip studied literature and history at the University of Virginia, graduating in 1876; he went on to get an LL.B. from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1879.
Bruce began a long career as a published historian in 1889 with the publication of The Plantation Negro as a Freeman. His most notable research came with a series of three works on seventeenth century Virginia, covering the economic, social, and institutional frameworks of the first Virginia settlers, published between 1896 and 1910.
Bruce was the corresponding secretary of the Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society
The Virginia Historical Society , founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history...
. He was awarded honorary doctorates by both The College of William and Mary and Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
.
In the last decade of his life, Bruce authored a five-volume history of the first hundred years of the University of Virginia, which is credited for expanding the historical perspective on the talents of Thomas Jefferson, and co-authored a five-volume history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He died after a long illness at his home near Charlottesville. He is remembered for attempts to raise the consciousness of Northern readers to Virginia’s contributions to the history of the United States through a series of letters to the New York Times on such topics as the claim of Virginia's House of Burgesses as the second elected legislature after the British Parliament and the importance of Jamestown as the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.