Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is an American classicist, military historian, farmer, and political commentator. He has been a commentator on modern and ancient warfare and contemporary politics for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Washington Times and other media outlets. He is a professor emeritus of Classics at California State University, Fresno, the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in classics and military history at the Hoover Institution, and visiting professor at Hillsdale College. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush, and was a presidential appointee in 2007–2008 on the American Battle Monuments Commission. Early life Hanson grew up in Selma, California in the San Joaquin Valley, and has worked there most of his life. He is of Swedish and Welsh ancestry, and his grandfather was killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Academic career 1985–2004 Hanson received a B.A. in classics and general Cowell College honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1975, and his PhD in classics from Stanford University in 1980.