Adams, HENRY (1838-1918), an American historian, son of Charles Francis Adams. He was professor of history at Harvard from 1870 to 1877, and was most successful in his work there. He has published several historical works, most important of which is the History of the United States from 1801 to 1817. The life of John Randolph in the American Statesmen Series was written by him. He is perhaps best-known for his autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams, in which he attempted to show how ill-prepared his generation was for the technological society of the twentieth century.