Robert A. Caro named first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical

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NEW YORK (AP) — Robert A. Caro's latest literary honor is very close to home.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian has been named the first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical, the venerable museum and cultural center where Caro's archives are stored and a research room is named for him. Caro, a lifelong New Yorker, visits on occasion to sign copies of his books, including his classic work on municipal builder Robert Moses, “The Power Broker,” the subject of a recent exhibit at the museum. Caro, 89, is also known for his series of Lyndon Johnson biographies and is currently writing the fifth and final volume. No release date has been announced.

He will be formally honored at a Sept. 17 gala, where The New York Historical also will present a History Makers Award to Grammy-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who next year is to become the musical and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. He had led the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009.

“We feel deeply privileged to name Robert A. Caro our Founders’ Historian Laureate — a singular distinction in our 221 years of institutional history — for his luminous writing,” the museum's board chair, Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang, said in a statement released Wednesday.

“We honor Robert A. Caro and Gustavo Dudamel for their virtuosity in presenting the truth of human voice — Robert A. Caro for his commanding biographies of Robert Moses and President Lyndon B. Johnson, and his profound analysis of their roles in 20th-century America; and Gustavo Dudamel for his awe-inspiring artistry and for activating the power of music to make social change.”