As a historian and teacher, Herbert Baxter Adams (1850-1901) was important in establishing the professional study of history in American universities.

Herbert Baxter Adams was born in Shutesburg, Mass., on April 16, 1850. He entered Amherst College in 1868 and initially showed interest in journalism, editing the college newspaper and occasionally reporting for papers in Amherst, Boston, and New York. However, according to Adams himself, hearing one lecture during his senior year changed his mind and made him decide to study history.

After graduation Adams taught for one year, but he knew that the pursuit of his goal required foreign study, and so in 1874 he left for Heidelberg and Berlin. He received his doctorate from Heidelberg in 1876, having already accepted a position at the newly established Johns Hopkins University, where he would remain until his death. It is not coincidental that Adams began his career at the same time that Johns...