John Harmon McElroyJohn Harmon McElroy was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania and helped put himself through college by working in its glass factory. Two of his ancestors fought for American independence. Having graduated with a bachelor's degree from Prineton and a doctorate from Duke, he taught American Literature at the university level for 35 years, including two appointments as Fulbright Professor of American Studies at universities in Spain and Brazil. He created and taught for many years a course called Literature of the Early Republic, which included the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. In the early 1990s he and his Cuban-born wife, Onyria Herrera McElroy, also a PhD, planned and - with the help of the U.S. and Spanish governments - planted a grove of 500 redwood trees on the rainy northwest coast of Spain (Galicia) to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's world-changing voyage of discovery. Professor McElroy has edited a history of Columbus, compiled a diary-like narrative from Walt Whitman's scattered prose writings on his Civil War experiences, and written five books on American cultural history. Read More Read Less