Robert Darnton

Robert Choate Darnton, born on May 10, 1939, in New York City, is a distinguished American cultural historian renowned for his expertise in 18th-century France. He served as the director of the Harvard University Library from 2007 to 2016, influencing the landscape of academic libraries significantly during his tenure.

Darnton's educational journey began at Phillips Academy, culminating in a degree from Harvard University in 1960. He furthered his studies as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, where he earned a DPhil in history in 1964, focusing on radical propaganda leading up to the French Revolution. His early career included a stint as a reporter for The New York Times before he joined Princeton University in 1968 as a faculty member, later becoming the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of European History. In 1982, he was honored with a MacArthur Fellowship.

A pivotal figure in scholarly societies, he presided over the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the American Historical Association, where he initiated the Gutenberg-e Program. His work as a trustee for the Oxford University Press and the New York Public Library highlights his commitment to scholarship.

Darnton has authored influential works, including *The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France*, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1996. Numerous accolades mark his career, including being named a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1999 and receiving the National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2012. His contributions to the history of the book and electronic publishing continue to resonate in academic circles.