Historian David McCullough has died at 89. Here are some of his Philadelphia connections

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, 89, died at his home in Hingham, Mass., on Sunday.

Known for his books that covered everything from the Brooklyn Bridge and the Wright Brothers to President John Adams and the American Revolution, Mr. McCullough was much lauded for narratives that expertly and entertainingly captured American history.

His 1992 book Truman, about President Harry Truman, and his 2001 book John Adams earned him Pulitzer Prizes, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work in 2006. He also earned National Book Awards for 1977′s The Path Between the Seas, about the construction of the Panama Canal, and a 1981 biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Mornings on Horseback.

As a chronicler of America’s past, Mr. McCullough often focused in his work on events that happened in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. He also has personal connections to the area:

Born in 1933 in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood, Mr. McCullough spent much of his early life in his Pennsylvania hometown. The city renamed its 16th Street Bridge after him in 2013, with Mr. McCullough saying at the ceremony — held on his 80th birthday — that “I think today, here in Pittsburgh, I’ve peaked,” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

After graduating from the city’s Shady Side Academy, he earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University.

His Pennsylvania roots showed in his first published book in 1968, The Johnstown Flood: The Incredible Story Behind One of the Most Devastating Disasters America Has Ever Known. The book chronicles the history of the devastating Great Flood of 1889 in Johnstown, Pa., a few dozen miles east of Pittsburgh.

As Mr. McCullough told The Inquirer in 1999, he began working on that book after coming across Library of Congress photos of the flood, which killed more than 2,000 people in a matter of minutes.

“The level of violence in those photos was so astounding I had to learn more. I turned to the card catalog to find out more, and there were nothing but awful books,” he said. As a result, he decided to write one.

With a seemingly innumerable cache of awards, praise wasn’t rare during Mr. McCullough’s decades-long career.

But, as Mr. McCullough told The Inquirer in 2016, among his most treasured awards was the Lenfest Spirit of the American Revolution Award — a prize he received in its inaugural year in Philadelphia at the Museum of the American Revolution.

Endowed by Mr. McCullough’s close friend, philanthropist and former Inquirer owner H.F. Gerry Lenfest, that award is given to figures who contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of the American Revolution. Mr. McCullough called receiving the award “about as high as the moon will get.”

Mr. McCullough returned to Philadelphia the following year for the museum’s official debut, where he spoke at its opening ceremony. The museum, he told The Inquirer, “belongs in no other city.”

Another local award was named after him in 2018 by the Carpenters’ Company, a centuries-old union guild for carpenters in Philadelphia.

Dubbed the David McCullough Prize for Excellence in American Public History, the award celebrates contributions to American public history that “educate, entertain and inspire readers, visitors, and audiences to more fully appreciate and value learning history,” the Carpenters’ Company told The Inquirer in 2018.

The prize was officially announced in June that year at a ceremony at Carpenters’ Hall at Independence National Historical Park. Mr. McCullough spoke at the mall ceremony.

“There’s never been a time when the need for the understanding of our history, who we are, why we are, where we’ve been … has been as great as right now,” Mr. McCullough told The Inquirer.

Following news of Mr. McCullough’s death, a flood of praise and remembrance for the late author and historian began on social media — including from some notable locals.

“David McCullough was an incredibly talented author and historian,” tweeted Mayor Jim Kenney. “I enjoyed many of his books and the stories he wrote about some of our history’s great leaders and accomplishments. May his memory and legacy live on through his impressive works.”

Sen. Bob Casey said that Mr. McCullough “had a gift for explaining history in eloquent [and] uplifting ways.” Sen. Pat Toomey had a similar take, tweeting that “we are all fortunate this Pittsburgh native had the opportunity and willingness to share his talents with the rest of the world.”

The Museum of the American Revolution also posted a tribute to Mr. McCullough, echoing Lenfest’s sentiment that the author has “given an entire generation a new appreciation for the responsibility of liberty.”