Princeton Weekly Bulletin, April 6, 1998
Arthur S. Link
Arthur S. Link, 77, George Henry Davis '86 Professor of American
History, Emeritus, died on March 26.
Regarded as the foremost authority on Woodrow Wilson, Link wrote more than 30 books, including a five-volume biography of Wilson, as well as many articles and reviews. In more than five decades as a leading presidential historian, he delivered public presentations in all 50 states and in Europe, South America and Japan. In recent years he served as cochair of the Working Group on Disability in U.S. Presidents, which published its final report in 1997.
Link's crowning scholarly achievement was the editing of the 69-volume Papers of Woodrow Wilson, published by Princeton University Press between 1966 and 1994. The project began before the advent of modern word-processing technology, so Link personally chose every document, wrote most of the longer footnotes and saw each volume through the press, all while carrying a full teaching load at Princeton.
Born in Virginia, Link grew up in North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he received a BA in 1941 and PhD in 1945. In 1945 he joined the faculty of Princeton University as instructor and was promoted to assistant professor. In 1949 he went to Northwestern University as associate professor and was named full professor in 1954. Link returned in 1960 to Princeton, where he was named Edwards Professor of American History in 1965 and Davis Professor in 1976. In 1992 he retired to Advance, N.C. He was later named historian of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, as well as Distinguished Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Link is the recipient of numerous awards, including Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships; 10 honorary degrees; and, on two occasions, the Bancroft Prize for the best book published in American history. An active Presbyterian, he served as ruling elder at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, and he was vice president of the National Council of Churches of Christ in America.
Link is survived by four children: Dr. A. Stanley Link Jr., James Douglas Link, Margaret Link Weil and Dr. William Link; and four grandchildren. His wife of more than 50 years, Margaret, died in 1996.
Contributions In lieu of flowers should be made to Shallowford Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund, P. O. Box 159, Lewisville NC 27023.