Van Loon, H.W（1882-1944）, A Dutch-American historian and journalist. Born in Rotterdam, he went to the United States in19o3 to study at Cornell University. From the 1910s until his death, van Loon wrote many books, illustrating them himself. Most widely known among these is The Story of Mankind, a history of the world especially for children, which won the first Newbery Medal in i922. However, he also wrote many other very popular books aimed at young adults. As a writer he was known for emphasizing crucial historical events and giving a complete picture of individual characters, as well as the role of the arts in history.