Jacques Barzun

Jacques Barzun (born November 30, 1907, Créteil, France—died October 25, 2012, San Antonio, Texas) was a French-born American teacher, historian, and author who influenced higher education in the United States by his insistence that undergraduates avoid early specialization and instead be given broad instruction in the humanities. Barzun moved to the United States in 1920. He became a lecturer in history at Columbia University in 1927, obtaining a Ph.D. from there in 1932. Remaining at...