Shelby Foote: Civil War Historian Featured in Ken Burns Documentary Dies

Shelby Foote was an American historian and novelist. Born on November 17, 1916, in Greenville, Mississippi, he was a close friend of author Walker Percy.

Foote wrote the three-volume The Civil War: A Narrative (1958-1974), a work of more than a million words. His storytelling and Southern accent in Ken Burns's 1990 PBS series The Civil War made him a household name. He also wrote novels such as Shiloh.

Foote lived in Memphis, Tennessee, for much of his life, and died there on June 27, 2005, at age 88.

Achievements: The Civil War: A Narrative, Ken Burns's The Civil War (1990).

Birth: November 17, 1916 - Greenville, Mississippi.

Profession: Historian and novelist.

Interesting Facts: He wrote his books with a dip pen.