Edward J. Larson

Edward J. Larson is a historian and legal scholar with expertise in the intersections of science, religion, and public life. Larson holds the Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law and is University Professor of History at Pepperdine University. Before entering academia, Larson served as associate counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor and practiced law in Seattle. He earned a J.D. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a dual background that has shaped his career in legal history and the history of science.

Larson received the Pulitzer Prize for History for his book "Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion." The book contends that "Inherit the Wind"—both the play and the movie—misrepresented the actual Scopes Trial, framing it as the beginning of a cultural conflict involving science, religion, law, and politics. Larson is the author of 16 books and more than 300 published articles, and his work has contributed to public understanding of legal history, constitutional law, and the evolution debate in America.

Larson's publications cover a range of topics, including American founding history and polar exploration. His book "The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783–1789" appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Other works include "An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science," "A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign," and "Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership." "Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters" provides historical and political context for the year leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. "American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765–1795" was named to the Best Nonfiction Books of the Year by Kirkus Reviews. Larson's books have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Larson's achievements have been recognized with honors such as the National Outdoor Book Award for "To the Edges of the Earth," the Friends of Darwin Award from the National Association for Science Education, and the Dean's Award for Excellence in Scholarship from Pepperdine Law School. He was also honored with the Pepperdine University Stephen D. Davis Award for Scholarly Achievement. Larson has served as a resident scholar at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Study Center, held the Fulbright Program's John Adams Chair in American Studies, participated in the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Writers and Artists Program, and was an inaugural Fellow at the Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon.

Larson has lectured on all seven continents and has been a visiting professor at Stanford Law School, the University of Melbourne, Leiden University, and the University of Georgia. He also holds a visiting chair in law at Yale. Larson has appeared on C-SPAN, PBS—including as a historian on Nova and American Experience—NPR, including as a guest on "Fresh Air with Terry Gross," "The Diane Rehm Show," and "Talk of the Nation - Science Friday," as well as the History Channel. His articles have appeared in Nature, Atlantic Monthly, Science, Scientific American, Time, the Wall Street Journal, American History, The Guardian, and numerous law reviews.