There have been many histories written of the University of Wisconsin and its schools, colleges, and departments. The University is fortunate to have a major, scholarly 4 volume history covering 1848 to 1971. The first two volumes, covering 1848-1925, were written by Merle Curti and Vernon Carstensen and basically defined the genre of university histories. The second two volumes (1925-1945, 1945-1971) were written by E. David Cronon and John W. Jenkins.