William O. Aydelotte
The University of Iowa
September 1, 1910 - January 17, 1996
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Scientific Discipline: Social and Political Sciences Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1974)
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William Osgood Aydelotte was a leading figure in the development of social science history in the United States. Publishing initially in the field of narrative diplomatic history, he emerged as his era’s most innovative investigator of legislative behavior—in particular, of the British Parliament. Aydelotte was a leader among historians who envisioned the adoption of analytical approaches—involving greater application of social theory, systematic analysis, and quantitative evidence—in history. He advocated, for example, adding statistical methods to the historian’s arsenal. This commitment allowed him to produce significant theoretical and substantive findings in the fields of legislative behavior and theory—such as his analysis of the effects of party affiliation, economic and social position, and constituency on parliamentarians’ voting patterns—as well as to revise scholarly understanding of a critical period in British history.
Majoring in classics as an undergraduate at Harvard University, Aydelotte received a bachelor’s degree in 1931. Having decided to become a historian, he proceeded to the University of Cambridge, earning his PhD in history there in 1934. While in his first professional position, as an assistant in the office of the chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in Washington, DC, he associated with a group of young economists, geographers, political scientists, and sociologists who were enthused at the opportunity to use their analytical skills in solving the social problems confronted by the New Deal. Aydelotte always considered his experience in Washington to have been valuable, but he left the public policy arena after two years to begin his career as a college and university teacher.
After a decade of teaching at Trinity College (Hartford, CT), Smith College (Northampton, MA), and Princeton University, in 1947 Aydelotte joined the history faculty at the State University of Iowa, Iowa City (now the University of Iowa), where he remained for the rest of his scholarly career. He served as department chairman (1947–59 and 1965–68) and as Carver Professor of History (1976–78). Aydelotte is generally credited with having transformed a history department of modest reputation into an exciting intellectual environment, while at the same time pioneering new modes of historical research and analysis.
