Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edwin Burrows dies at 74
NEW YORK — Edwin Burrows, a historian who won a Pulitzer Prize for an epic overview of New York City’s early history, has died. He was 74.
Burrows died on Friday at his home in Huntington from complications of a Parkinsonian syndrome, said his daughter, Kate Burrows.
Burrows and co-author Mike Wallace spent 20 years writing “Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898,” a massive book that narrated the city’s rise from Dutch outpost to the country’s hub for all things financial and cultural and that won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1999.
“He painted a picture of history and really made it come to life,” Kate Burrows said.
Burrows’ most recent work was “The Finest Building in America: The New York Crystal Palace, 1853-1858,” which was published in February.
Born in Detroit, Burrows went to the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree and received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1973. He taught at Brooklyn College for more than 40 years.
Along with his daughter, Burrows is survived by his wife, his son and two brothers.
