author
J. H. T. (John Hanson Thomas) McPherson
1865–1953
Best known for a concise early history of Liberia, this American historian also spent decades teaching at the University of Georgia. His work bridges academic research and public-minded history, with a clear interest in politics, government, and the historical development of institutions.
1 Audiobook
History of Liberia Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science
by J. H. T. (John Hanson Thomas) McPherson
About the author
John Hanson Thomas McPherson was an American historian and author whose dates are commonly given as 1865–1953. He is best known for History of Liberia (1891), a study that grew out of his doctoral work at Johns Hopkins University and was published as part of the university's historical and political studies series.
Early in his career, McPherson was associated with Johns Hopkins as a fellow in history, and his 1891 book also identifies him as an instructor in history at the University of Michigan before he became professor of history and politics at the University of Georgia. Archival and authority records indicate that he later served for many years at the University of Georgia and headed its history department from 1898 to 1940.
Surviving papers held by the University of Georgia suggest a long academic life that reached beyond a single book, including correspondence, lecture notes, printed material, and scrapbooks. Although he is not a widely known popular author today, his writing on Liberia and on Georgia government shows him as a scholar interested in how states are formed, governed, and remembered.