The Historians' History of the World

Title page.

The Historians' History of the World, subtitled A Comprehensive Narrative of the Rise and Development of Nations as Recorded by over two thousand of the Great Writers of all Ages, is a 25-volume encyclopedia of world history originally published in English near the beginning of the 20th century. It is quite extensive and its perspective is entirely Western Eurocentric. It was compiled by Henry Smith Williams, a medical doctor and author of many books on medicine, science, and history, as well as other authorities on history, and published in New York in 1902 by Encyclopædia Britannica, it was also published in London printed by Morrison & Gibb Limited, of Edinburgh. A second edition was published in 1907. Two further volumes were subsequently released, dealing with the First World War.

Others involved were historian Walter Lynwood Fleming, and Rupert Hughes as editor.[1]

Digital reproductions of the volumes are available via the Google Books project (links below). Most have been converted to the DjVu file format and made available on archive.org.[2]

List of Volumes

Volume I: Prolegomena, Egypt, Mesopotamia

Illustration of an Assyrian infantry spearman from Volume I.

The prolegomena discuss various topics relating to the practice of historical study.

Volume II: Israel, India, Persia, Phoenicia, minor nations of Western Asia

Royal palace in the Kingdom of Israel from Volume II.


Volume III: Greece to the Peloponnesian war

Ancient Greek dancer from Volume III.
Row of Hoplites - headpiece ornament for Chapter XV: The First Foreign Invasion.


Volume IV: Greece to the Roman conquest


Satyr sitting in a tree and playing pipes - tailpiece ornament for Chapter LV: The Conquest of India.

Volume V: The Roman Republic

Portrait of Mark Antony - headpiece ornament for Chapter XXVII: The Last Days of the Republic.


Volume VI: The early Roman empire

Portrait of Drusus, brother of Roman Emperor Tiberius I and father of Emperor Claudius I, from Volume VI.


Volume VII: The later Roman Empire

"Early coats of mail" Illustration from Volume VII.


Volume VIII: Parthians, Sassanids, and Arabs, the Crusades and the Papacy

Desert scene; an Arab family and a camel at an oasis - headpiece ornament for Introductory Essay: The Scope and Influence of Arabic History.


Volume IX: Italy

Illustration of the birthplace of Amerigo Vespucci from Volume IX.


Volume X: Spain and Portugal

Portrait of historian William Hickling Prescott from Volume X.
Illustration of a medieval Spanish Christian flagellant from Volume X.
Portrait of Spanish knight and folk hero El Cid from Volume X.


Volume XI: France, 843-1715

Portrait of King Philip I of France from Volume XI.


Volume XII: France, 1715-1815


Volume XIII: France, 1815-1904; Netherlands


Volume XIV: The Netherlands (concluded), the Germanic empires


Volume XV: Germanic empires (concluded)


Volume XVI: Scandinavia, Switzerland to 1715


Volume XVII: Switzerland (concluded), Russia and Poland


Volume XVIII: England to 1485


Volume XIX England, 1485-1642


Volume XX: England, 1642-1791


Volume XXI: Scotland, Ireland, England since 1792


Volume XXII: The British colonies, the United States (early colonial period)


Volume XXII supplement: Australia and New Zealand

Published 1908, and containing two additional chapters on Australia and four on New Zealand.

Volume XXIII: The United States (concluded), Spanish America


Volume XXIV: Poland, the Balkans, Turkey, minor Eastern states, China, Japan


Volume XXV: Index


References

  1. ↑ http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/bai/kemm.htm
  2. ↑ https://archive.org/search.php?query=The%20Historians%20History%20Of%20The%20World

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Historians' History of the World.