John Bach McMaster

Born in Brooklyn in 1852, he studied at the College of the City of New York and trained as a civil engineer before turning fully toward history. That unusual path shaped his writing: he became interested not just in political leaders, but in how ordinary people lived, worked, argued, traveled, and voted.

He is chiefly remembered for A History of the People of the United States, a major multivolume work that began in the 1880s and won a wide readership. At a time when much historical writing focused on famous statesmen, his books stood out for their attention to social life and popular experience.

He taught history for many years at the University of Pennsylvania and remained an influential American historian into the early 20th century. He died in 1932, leaving behind a body of work that helped make social history more visible to general readers.