Lawrence Henry Gipson (1880–September 26, 1971) was a U.S. historian, who won the 1950 Bancroft Prize and the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for History.
A native of Greeley, Colorado, Gipson moved with his family to Caldwell, Idaho as a boy. After dropping out of high school, he worked at various odd jobs (such as mining and driving stage coaches), as well as at the family business, Caxton Press, which published Idaho Odd Fellow, the Gem State Rural and Livestock Farmer.
Gipson graduated from the University of Idaho in 1903. He was then selected to be one of the first Rhodes Scholars. Receiving his B.A. from Oxford University in 1907 he said:
Returning to the United States, Gipson taught at Idaho College for three years and, in 1909, married Jeannette Reed (who died in 1967). He then attended Yale University as a Farnham Fellow from 1910 to 1911 before being named head of the history department at Wabash College, a position he held until 1924. While teaching at Wabash, he received his Ph.D. from Yale University, in 1918.
In 1924, Gipson was appointed professor of history at Lehigh University, a position he held until his death. During his years at Lehigh, he wrote the 15-volume series The British Empire Before the American Revolution, completing the final volume only shortly before his death. Three of the volumes were given significant historical prizes:
Gipson's ashes were buried in Caldwell. He left his entire estate to Lehigh University, providing the core funding for the Gipson Institute