TELEVISION - Feb. 11, 1991

Burns Wins History Prize: Filmmaker Ken Burns, who brought the Civil War to life in an acclaimed PBS documentary series, on Saturday won the inaugural $50,000 Lincoln Prize for his work. The prize, presented by the Lincoln and Soldiers Institute at Gettysburg College, Pa., for scholarship on Abraham Lincoln or the war era, “reflects a recognition that fine history need not be confined to books or to the academy,” Burns said. He said the money would be given to the technicians, editors and photographers who helped him tell the story of the Civil War “from the bottom up.” The documentary was chosen over 41 other entries, all either books or manuscripts. The Lincoln Award is described as the largest ever offered in the field of American history. Judges for the prize include historians, academics and writers.