John M. Merriman

Who is John M. Merriman?

John M. Merriman is a Charles Seymour Professor of History at Yale University. He is the author of many books including his most well known A History of Modern Europe since the Renaissance, a popular survey text for undergraduate history classes at many American universities and colleges. Merriman was born and raised in Oregon where he attended a Jesuit all-boys high-school, although he does not consider himself religious. His favorite music is The Rolling Stones, "[I’ve] never written a thing without a record on." Merriman formed many of his current political views during the volatile Vietnam years; he still describes himself as "virulently anti-establishment". His most recent book is The Dynamite Club: How a Bombing in the Fin-De-Siecle Paris Ignited The Age of Modern Terror about the French Anarchist Emile Henry.

He received his Ph.D. and B.A. at the University of Michigan. Merriman teaches French and Modern European history and first began teaching at Yale in the mid-1970s where he still resides. He was the seventh master of Branford College. He lives part of each year with his family in France.