Twelve Who Ruled and Robert Roswell Palmer Essay Example for Free

Twelve Who Ruled and Robert Roswell Palmer Essay The book, Twelve Who Ruled, covers a very complex period, the French Revolution. Robert Roswell Palmer; author of the book, brings our attention of twelve men who have a chance to change society, institutions, and political beliefs. Palmer takes our thoughts drawn to the brutality and dictatorship of this time period and shares with us how idealism can conrupt and damage a nation as a whole. Oppression is the sense and theme of emotion I feel when reading this book. How can a man like Robert Roswell Palmer be an author of a well-written masterpiece? Robert Roswell Palmer or professionally known as R. R. Palmer, was born on January 11, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois. In high school, he accelerated in his academics. Motivated by his teachers, Palmer competed for a citywide â€Å"Latin prize† and earned a full ride scholarship to the University of Chicago. He received his PHD from Cornell University in 1934, specializing in 18th-century France. Palmers talents brought him an instructorship at Princeton University in 1936. Palmer spent World War II in Washington, D.C., where he put his intellectual skills to work for the War Department. Palmer married Esther Howard in 1942 and had three children. After the war and progressing in his marriage, he was a proud supervisor and contributor of a project that resulted in the postwar publication of two volumes, Organization of Ground Combat Troops (1947) and Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops (1948). After the war he returned to Princeton where he taught for three decades and authored seven of his books, Catholics and Unbelievers in 18th-Century France; published in 1939, Twelve Who Ruled; published in 1941, and The Improvement of Humanity: Education and the French Revolution; published in 1985, Rand McNally Atlas of World History, first published in 1957 and still used today by many college professors. At age 43 he was named Princetons Dodge Professor of History from 1952 to 1963 and he began the latter part of his academic career by assuming administrative duties as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Washington University, St. Louis from 1963 to 1966. Later on he returned to his first passion, writing and teaching. At the age of 60, he accepted a professorship at Yale University, from which he retired in 1977. Palmer returned to Princeton where he was a guest scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study. For the last several years, Palmer and his family lived at Newtown, Pennsylvania and where he would pass away on June 11, 2002. Palmers career earned him many honors. This includes service as president of the Society for French Historical Studies in 1961 and the American Historical Association in 1970. He was an active member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts Sciences. He held visiting professorships at the Universities of Chicago, Colorado, and Michigan, and at the University of Califomia at Berkeley. He was the recipient of several honorary degrees in the United States as well as in Europe. Italys Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei awarded him the Feltrenelli Prize in 1990 in recognition of his lifetime scholarly achievements. R. R. Palmer is a valid source of wanting to know the French Revolution. From knowing his academic background and his well high positive representation, he is a healthy source. Reading his book, Twelve who ruled, seems as if he personally knows the twelve individuals. He brings this time period of great oppression during the French Revolution to life as you progress reading into his book. This book is a great book and a well written masterpiece that will open your eyes.