Noted Jefferson scholar, UVa professor dies

Merrill D. Peterson, a noted Thomas Jefferson scholar and University of Virginia history professor, died Wednesday in Charlottesville.

He was 88.

Peterson was author or editor of 37 books, including the definitive Library of America edition of the writings of Thomas Jefferson and a 1994 study of Abraham Lincoln titled “Lincoln in American Memory” that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

UVa’s Board of Visitors established a professorship in his name eight years ago, calling him “without a doubt the most distinguished living Jefferson scholar in the country.”

Peterson’s scholarly work focused primarily on Jefferson and what he called the “second generation of American statesmen,” as well as on Lincoln and his place in “American thought and imagination.”

His first book, “The Jefferson Image in the American Mind,” won the Bancroft Prize — one of the most prestigious awards in American history — in 1961.

His second book, which Peterson considered his best, was a biography of Jefferson called “Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation.”

“His one-volume biography of Thomas Jefferson is still considered among the very best that have ever been written on our university’s founder,” Edward Ayers, a historian and former dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, said in 2005.

Peterson’s son, Jeffrey W. Peterson of Falls Church, said: “He had a real consciousness of the importance of American democracy and how individuals can make an important contribution to that.”

Peterson added that his father sought to live a life of public service.

“He always set for us a really good example of doing things for others,” he said.

At the age of 76, Peterson volunteered with the Peace Corps and served in Armenia. Before leaving, he told The Daily Progress that he decided to join the Peace Corps after receiving a brochure in the mail.

“I noticed the fine print said no age limitation,” he said. “I’ve really had very little experience as a volunteer outside the academy. I think I would like to be in a situation where I have a sense that I am serving and making a contribution.”

He was the second oldest Peace Corps volunteer serving at the time.

Peterson’s time in Armenia inspired a book he wrote after returning, “Starving Armenians: America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1930.”

In 2005, Peterson became the eighth recipient of the Library of Virginia’s lifetime achievement award, which recognizes Virginia writers, living or dead. Previous recipients included Booker T. Washington and Edgar Allan Poe.

Peterson joined UVa as the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History in 1963.

He served as dean of the faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences from 1981 to 1985. And he was elected professor emeritus upon his retirement from UVa’s faculty in 1987.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Rotunda Room of Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge.

Among the service’s speakers will be Daniel P. Jordan, the retired head of Monticello. Jordan studied for his doctorate under Peterson and was a longtime friend.

Jordan could not be reached for comment Thursday. Jordan’s wife, Lou Jordan, however, said Peterson was an outstanding scholar and that her husband said of Peterson, upon hearing of his death, “We owe him a lot.”