"History is written by the victors/winners"

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

HISTORY + WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS--4,270 Google hits, 3,670 Google Groups hits
HISTORY + WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS--6,200 Google hits, 4,750 Google Groups hits
HISTORY + TOLD BY THE VICTORS--174 Google hits, 52 Google Groups hits

Jon Stewart and his The Daily Show gang at Comedy Central have a new book
coming out next week. "History is written by the winners," Stephen Colbert
("senior" correspondent) declared. "Well, here's a history book written by a bunch
of losers."

Fred Shapiro probably has this going back to ancient Rome, but who knows. In
any case, we can at least beat BARTLETT'S FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS.


(GOOGLE GROUPS)
From: Evan Kirshenbaum (kirshenbaum at hpl.hp.com)
Subject: Re: Someting else
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
Date: 2004-02-14 07:01:16 PST

Bob Cunningham <exw6sxq at earthlink.net> writes:> On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 23:48:31
+0100, trio at euronet.nl (Donna> Richoux) said:>> [...]>>> Is "History is a tale
told by the victors" or anything similar, an>> actual quotation from someone,
or an old proverb, or a modern>> proverb? I don't find it at Bartleby's
Quotations.>> Alex Haley.  From _Encarta Book of Quotations_:>>    History is
written by the winners.>>    Interview, _The David Frost Television Show_>
(April 20, 1972)>> It seems like something that should have been said earlier,> but
I haven't found it in the _Oxford Book of Quotations_ or> in _Bartlett's
Familiar Quotations Sixteenth Edition_.Poking around Amazon, in Rose's _Heisenberg
and the Nazi Atomic BombProject_, on page 55, he writesThe disreputable
character of Heisenberg's own review [of DavidIrving's 1968 _The German Atomic
Bomb_] emerges in the finalparagraph, where he denounces the hostile Allied view
of theGerman official version as a species of victor's justice.  "Aftera great
war, history is written by the victors and legends developwhich glorify
them."I don't know when the review was written, but it seems likely that itwas
before 1972, and some of the surrounding context implies that itwas in the 1960s.
(Amazon only lets you go two pages in eitherdirection from a quote.)I see
another book, an _Aesop's Fables_ that gives "History is writtenby the victors" as
the moral of "The Man and the Lion", but thatdoesn't seem to be the canonical
moral, which is "One story is good,till another is told."John Miller's
_Revolution: Faces of Change_, quotes "an unknownspeaker at Villa's funeral" as
saying "History is written by victors,but legends are written by the people.  For
that reason the name ofFrancisco Villa has remained enshrined forever in the
heart of thepoor."  Francisco "Pancho" Villa died in 1923.  Of course, this
wasprobably said in Spanish, but the form makes it sound as though it wasa common
saying even back then.


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS) ("history" and "written by the winners")
A Determined Quest for Black Heritage; A Determined Quest for Black Heritage
By Dorothy Gilliam. The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973).
Washington, D.C.: Sep 17, 1972. p. G1 (2 pages)


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)("history" and "written by the victors")
1.  MIDEAST DEBATE; Ben-Gurion, Nasser State Their Views On Columbia 'Hear It
Now' Disks Ills of Egypt
By THOMAS LASK. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: May 27,
1956. p. 100 (1 page)

    2.  The hazards of great gangster fortunes; THE GODFATHER. By Mario Puzo.
Putnam. 446 pp. $6.95.
By Gay Talese. The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973). Washington,
D.C.: Mar 9, 1969. p. 179 (1 page)


(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
   Daily Northwestern   Wednesday, September 13, 1922 Oshkosh, Wisconsin
...THEy were willing to rend THE books WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS of THE
liigCKt.....publisher In Unt evening's paper, WRITTEN BY Dr. K, J. Cumpbell,
weretary..

   Chronicle Telegram   Wednesday, May 28, 1958 Elyria, Ohio
...to argue THE points. HISTORY gets WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS. If we win
out.....up to us. THE working press, AND to HISTORY. Well, as to THE press. I
would..

 Oshkosh Daily Northwestern     Monday, April 22, 1963 Oshkosh, Wisconsin
...jmanship of Mrs. Victor Emmett. books WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS. Topic for
this.....a report will be proi into THE HISTORY AND background of pleton..

 Valley News    Thursday, December 03, 1964 Van Nuys, California
...THE HISTORY of all THE wars ere WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS. THErefore, THE
.....for THEse, telephone numbers is 805. WRITTEN Objective..

 Newark Advocate    Thursday, April 24, 1969 Newark, Ohio
...define as "HISTORY" is mostly a record WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS, whose
version of.....cogently made. Mr. Peter Drucker has WRITTEN an essay which, really,
Mr..

 Lima News  Saturday, April 10, 1971 Lima, Ohio
...in this crisis AND his tory is WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS THEre's nothing like
a.....people than any. oTHEr system in world HISTORY, has been built on THE..