Who Is Stephen E. Ambrose? Age, Biography and Wiki
Stephen E. Ambrose was born on January 10, 1936, and he passed away on October 13, 2002. Although he is no longer alive, his impact on history and literature continues to resonate. Ambrose was a prolific American historian, author, and speaker known for his engaging narratives that brought history to life, particularly during World War II. His celebrated works, such as "Band of Brothers" and "D-Day: June 6, 1944," have left an indelible mark on both popular culture and academia.
| Occupation | Football Players |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | January 10, 1936 |
| Age | 66 Years |
| Birth Place | Lovington, Illinois, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 13 October, 2002 |
| Died Place | Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S. |
Popularity
Stephen E. Ambrose's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Stephen E. Ambrose stood at an impressive height of approximately 6 feet (183 cm). While specific details about his weight during his lifetime remain unavailable, he was known to have a hearty build typical of those who were actively engaged in various outdoor activities. As he spent much of his life researching and traveling, Ambrose's physique reflected the active lifestyle he led.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Stephen E. Ambrose was married to his beloved wife, Kathy Ambrose, with whom he shared three children. The couple enjoyed a strong partnership throughout his life, supporting each other through various endeavors. Ambrose's dedication to his family was evident, often shining through in his writings where he shared anecdotes from his personal life and upbringing.
His father was a physician who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Ambrose was raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin, where he graduated from Whitewater High School. His family also owned a farm in Lovington, Illinois, and vacation property in Marinette County, Wisconsin.
He attended college at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a member of Chi Psi fraternity and played on the University of Wisconsin football team for three years.
Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his passing in 2002, Stephen E. Ambrose had an estimated net worth of around $10 million. His wealth came from numerous bestselling books, documentary credits, and speaking engagements. As of 2025, his literary legacy continues to appreciate in value, with many of his works remaining in print and finding new audiences through adaptations and educational use.
Career, Business and Investments
Ambrose's career spanned decades, during which he wrote more than 30 nonfiction books, most focused on World War II and American history. He was the founder of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, an institution that honors the heroes of D-Day and serves as a historical resource. Beyond writing, Ambrose was an esteemed professor of history at the University of New Orleans, where he shaped the minds of future historians and enthusiasts alike.
Stephen E. Ambrose also engaged in several public speaking engagements, and his enthusiastic storytelling helped bring history to a broader audience. His work in television included producing and consulting for historical documentaries, including the award-winning miniseries based on "Band of Brothers."
Ambrose was a history professor from 1960 until his retirement in 1995.
From 1971 onward, he was a member of the University of New Orleans faculty, where he was named the Boyd Professor of History in 1989, an honor given only to faculty who attain "national or international distinction for outstanding teaching, research, or other creative achievement". During the 1969–1970 academic year, he was the Ernest J.
King Professor of Maritime History at the Naval War College. While teaching at Kansas State University as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of War and Peace during the 1970–1971 academic year, Ambrose participated in heckling of Richard Nixon during a speech the president gave on the KSU campus.
Given pressure from the KSU administration and having job offers elsewhere, upon finishing out the year Ambrose offered to leave and the offer was accepted.
His opposition to the Vietnam War stood in contrast to his research on "presidents and the military at a time when such topics were increasingly regarded by his colleagues as old fashioned and conservative." Ambrose also taught at Louisiana State University (assistant professor of history; 1960–1964) and Johns Hopkins University (associate profes
sor of history; 1964–1969).
He held visiting posts at Rutgers University, the University of California, Berkeley, and a number of European schools, including University College Dublin, where he taught as the Mary Ball Washington Professor of American History.
Social Network
Though he did not have a social media presence during his lifetime, Stephen E. Ambrose's influence persists through various platforms where fans and historians continue to celebrate his work. His official website and the National D-Day Museum's social channels honor his legacy and keep his memory alive by sharing educational content, discussions, and updates about historical events and commemorative activities.
A visit to a reunion of Easy Company veterans in 1988 prompted Ambrose to collect their stories, turning them into Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest (1992).
D-Day (1994), built upon additional oral histories, presented the battle from the view points of individual soldiers and became his first best seller. A reviewer for the Journal of Military History commended D-Day as the "most comprehensive discussion" of the sea, air, and land operations that coalesced on that day.
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, writing for The New York Times, proclaimed that "Reading this history, you can understand why for so many of its participants, despite all the death surrounding them, life revealed itself in that moment at that place." Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers, which describes battles fought in northwest Europe from D-Day through the en
d of the war in Europe, utilized, again, extensive oral histories.
Citizen Soldiers became a best seller, appearing on the New York Times best sellers lists for both hardcover and paperback editions in the same week. During the same week, in September 1998, D-Day and Undaunted Courage, Ambrose's 1996 book on Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery, appeared on the best seller list, also.
He also wrote The Victors (1998), a distillation of material from other books detailing Eisenhower's wartime experiences and connections to the common soldier, and The Wild Blue, that looks at World War II aviation largely through the experiences of George McGovern, who commanded a B-24 crew that flew numerous missions over Germany.
His other major works include Undaunted Courage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Nothing Like It in the World about the construction of the Pacific Railroad. His final book, This Vast Land, a historical novel about the Lewis & Clark expedition written for young readers, was published posthumously in 2003.
Education
Ambrose was well-educated, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s and Doctorate from Louisiana State University. His educational background laid a strong foundation for his career as a historian and writer, enabling him to delve deep into the complexities of historical narratives and convey them effectively to a general audience.
Stephen Edward Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, academic, and author, most noted for his books on World War II and his biographies of U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He was a longtime professor of history at the University of New Orleans and the author of many bestselling volumes of American popular history.
