Antedating Quote "history is written by the victor" (1919)

[Jonathan Lighter]

NewspaperArchive turns up an early 1941 ex. of the exact words "History is
written by the victors" in a small-town New York State paper.  It does not
appear in the sententious context that would suggest that it was then a
recognized quotation.

Perhaps surprisingly, it doesn't become frequent until the '70s and
later.  Searches of the N.Y. Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune
also come up dry until twenty-five to thirty years ago.

That must be roughly the time that it became a cliche' expression.

JL

On Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 6:09 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating Quote "history is written by the victor"
> (1919)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Cf.:
>
> 1919 _The Newton Conference: Proceedings of a Conference of New England
> Baptist Leaders at the Newton Theological Institution, March 17-19, 1919_
> (Newton, Mass.: Newton Center) 49:  A school of real-politik arose in
> Germany, with some exponents indeed in every land, which said that might
> made right. Success consecrates all crimes. The invaders of Belgium were
> asked what history would say concerning their deeds. "We will write the
> history," was the cynical reply.
>
> Coincidence?
>
> JL
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 4:40 PM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Antedating Quote "history is written by the victor" (1919)
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >
> > YBQ has listed under Modern Proverbs (pg 527) the saying "History is
> > written by the survivors" and mentions the variants "History is
> > written by the winners" and "History is written by the victors".
> >
> > The YBQ citation is dated 1931. Here we present a 1919 citation
> > written by a German Admiral after the WWI defeat. The context
> > indicates that the saying is already known in Germany.
> >
> > Citation: 1919, My Memoirs Volume I by Grand Admiral Von Tirpitz, page
> > 254, Dodd, Mead, and Co., New York.
> >
> > =C5=AF it could be taken as a proof of the saying that history is written
> > by the victor =C5=AF
> >
> >
> >
> http://books.google.com/books?id=3D3BVoAAAAMAAJ&q=3Dby+the+victor#v=3Dsni=
> ppet&q=3Dby%20the%20victor&f=3Dfalse
> >
> > Here is a more of the context:
> >
> > THERE are many who declare that the German Empire would have been able
> > to obtain a proper friendly relationship with England, and that it was
> > only neglect on the part of German policy, and particularly the
> > building of our fleet, that destroyed this prospect. If ever this idea
> > were to establish itself in German minds, it could be taken as a proof
> > of the saying that history is written by the victor; and in this
> > present case the vanquished would be cheating in order to be able to
> > pay allegiance to the Anglo-Saxon hegemony in its historical
> > conscience.
> >
> > The ADS list archive has a 2004 post about this quote that contains
> > some later citations.
> >
> >
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=3Dind0409B&L=3DADS-L&P=3DR=
> 9143
> >
> > The "Quote Verifier" by Ralph Keyes discusses the expression and
> > contains some later citations.
> >
> > Encarta Book of Quotations has a 1972 citation spoken by Alex Haley.
> >
> > I could not find the quote at Popik's website.
> >
> > Garson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
>
>
>
> --=20
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