Will Durant

Will Durant was the left-wing philosopher-historian who labored on his epic, multi-volume "The Story of Civilization" by himself, and then with his wife Ariel, for half a century. The son of French Canadian immigrants from Quebec, Durant first planned to study for the priesthood, but an interest in socialism and biology thwarted those plans. He became a teacher and a writer. "The Story of Civilization" evolved out of a series of pamphlets he wrote for the education of workers. For "Rousseau and Revolution" (1967), the 10th volume of "The Story of Civilization," Will and Ariel Durant were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. They died within two weeks of each other in 1981.