David McCullough is an American author, narrator, historian and lecturer.  He has twice won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and he is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (which is the United States’ highest civilian award).  In 1995, the National Book Foundation awarded McCullough its lifetime Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (an honor shared by such influential figures as Toni Morrison, Ray Bradbury, Oprah Winfrey, Arthur Miller, and Philip Roth).

He also graduated from Davenport in 1955, with a degree in English literature!

McCullough has had 10 books published over the course of his lifetime, writing on such American subjects as the Wright Brothers, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the year 1776.  McCullough’s two Pulitzer Prize-winning books, Truman and John Adams, have been adapted by HBO into a TV film and a miniseries, respectively.  McCullough has also served as the narrator for many documentaries, including Ken Burns’ famous The Civil War from 1990.  McCullough also narrated the 2003 film Seabiscuit, and he hosted American Experience for 12 years (from 1988-1999).

McCullough continues to have an active and fruitful relationship with his former residential college, especially because his grandson graduated from Davenport just last year!