author
William R. (William Robert) Shepherd
1871–1934
A leading American historian and cartographer of the early 20th century, he helped bring Latin American history and world geography to a wider audience. He is especially remembered for his widely used historical atlas and for teaching generations of students at Columbia University.
1 Audiobook
The Hispanic Nations of the New World: A Chronicle of Our Southern Neighbors
by William R. (William Robert) Shepherd
About the author
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1871, William Robert Shepherd became an American historian known for his work on American and Latin American history. He studied at Columbia University, earned his doctorate there in 1896, and later continued his studies in Berlin before returning to Columbia as a professor.
Shepherd built a reputation as an authority on Latin America and on European overseas expansion. Alongside his scholarly writing, he was also a cartographer, and his Historical Atlas became one of his best-known works, valued for making complex history easier to picture and follow.
He spent most of his academic career teaching at Columbia University and remained an important figure in historical scholarship until his death in Berlin in 1934. His work stands out for combining careful research with a gift for presenting history in a broad, connected way.