Will Durant

Born in Massachusetts in 1885, Will Durant became one of the best-known interpreters of philosophy and history for general audiences. He first won wide attention with The Story of Philosophy, a book that introduced major thinkers in a lively, accessible way and helped establish his reputation as a writer who could make difficult ideas readable.

He is most closely associated with The Story of Civilization, the sweeping 11-volume history he wrote with his wife and longtime collaborator, Ariel Durant. Published over four decades, the series aimed to tell the history of human culture on a grand scale, and it earned the Durants a Pulitzer Prize as well as broad popular recognition.

Durant died in 1981, just days after Ariel Durant. He is still remembered for treating history as a deeply human story shaped not only by wars and rulers, but also by philosophy, art, religion, and everyday life.