Allen French

Allen French was an American historian and fiction writer born in Boston on November 28, 1870, and he died in Concord, Massachusetts, on October 6, 1946. He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spent time at the University of Berlin, and later attended Harvard. Over the course of his career, he built a reputation as a careful researcher with a lasting interest in early American history.

He is especially remembered for books on the American Revolution, including The Taking of Ticonderoga in 1775, General Gage's Informers, and The First Year of the American Revolution. Alongside that historical work, he also wrote fiction and children's books, including Arthurian tales and historical adventures such as The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow. That mix of solid scholarship and lively storytelling helped him reach both general readers and younger audiences.

French was closely connected with Concord's literary and historical life, and his papers are preserved by the Concord Free Public Library. He was also associated with the American Antiquarian Society, reflecting the serious place he held among historians of his time. For readers today, he stands out as a writer who could make the past feel both trustworthy and vividly imagined.