Person

Widmer, Edward L.

1963

obtained an A.B. in the history and literature of France and the United States, an A.M. in history, and a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. Widmer was appointed lecturer on history and literature at Harvard University from 1993 until 1997. He then spent a few years working with Bill Clinton, both during and after Clinton’s presidency, as a speechwriter in the later days of the Clinton White House and served as the ghostwriter for Hillary Clinton’s book, "Hard Choices." He is a historian, writer, and librarian. He was the first director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and an associate professor of history at Washington College from 2001. On July 1, 2006 he was appointed director and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. From 1995 until 1997 he played guitar and vocals in a Boston hard rock band, the Upper Crust