Pulitzer Prize in history awarded to UW grad

The 1998 Pulitzer Prize in history has been awarded to Edward J. Larson, a professor of history and law at the University of Georgia and a UW–Madison graduate.

Larson received two degrees here, both in the history of science. He received his master’s here in 1976 before attending Harvard Law School. After receiving his law degree, Larson returned to UW–Madison for further graduate study and received his doctorate in 1984.

Larson was cited for his book, “Summer for the Gods,” a cultural history of the famous Scopes monkey trial of 1925, a trial that, until the O.J. Simpson case, was the most famous trial in American history. As told by Larson, the story of the Scopes trial was both that of a media circus and an earnest battle between fundamentalist religion and science, a battle that Larson contends continues today.