William Stearns Davis
William Stearns Davis (1877–1930), American educator, historian, and author, has been cited as one who “contributed to history as a scholarly discipline, ... [but] was intrigued by the human side of history, which, at the time, was neglected by the discipline.” After first experimenting with short stories, he turned while still a college undergraduate to longer forms to relate, from an involved (fictional) character’s view, a number of critical turns of history. This faculty for humanizing, even dramatizing, history characterized Davis’ later academic and professional writings as well, making them particularly suitable for secondary and…