Douglas Southall Freeman

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1886, Douglas Southall Freeman earned a Ph.D. in history from Johns Hopkins University. Unable to find a job as a professor, he became a newspaper reporter and went on to serve as the editor of the Richmond News-Leader for 34 years.

Freeman’s work ethic was legendary. He would go to his office every day at 3:00 a.m., work until time for his twice daily radio broadcasts, then return home to spend another six hours working on his current book project. Aside from writing 600,000 words per year in newspaper copy, his four-volume biography of Robert E. Lee and his six-volume biography of George Washington both won Pulitzer Prizes. His three-volume Lee’s Lieutenants, A Study in Command is still a widely read classic. His radio broadcasts were syndicated nationally and were much-admired, particularly during World War II. “Time alone is irreplaceable,” he wrote. “Waste it not.”

Douglas Southall Freeman died on June 13, 1953, seventy years ago today, at age 67.

The photo is of him portraying Patrick Henry in the first reenactment of the “Liberty or Death” speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond in 1927. St. John’s has continued to present wonderful reenactments of Henry's speech throughout every summer since then.