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He was surrounded by his five children in Hingham, Massachusetts, at the time of his passing, his family says.
"The McCullough family is very appreciative of the support during this difficult time and the support of his many readers throughout the years."
His wife Rosalee Ingram Barnes McCullough, 89, had passed less than two months prior on June 9, according to her obituary.
The two met when she went to visit a friend in Pittsburgh in 1951, they married in 1954 and went on to raise five children while living in New York, Connecticut, Virginia, Vermont, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., Maine, Boston, before finally settling in the home on Music Street in Hingham in 1965.
McCullough's name might be familiar to some Pennsylvanians as his father and grandfather founded the McCullough Electric Company in Pittsburgh in 1933. He didn't go into the family business, instead majoring in English at Yale University, where he met the playwright Thornton Wilder who encouraged him write.
So he, did working as a writer at the United States Information Agency, Sports Illustrated, and the American Heritage Publishing Company before penning his first book "The Johnstown Flood: The Incredible Story Behind One of the Most Devastating Disasters America Has Ever Known."
With more books came more acclaim like two National Book Awards, two Francis Parkman Prizes, two Pulitzer Prizes, and numerous other awards for his work as a historian and writer. This drew attention from the likes of Hollywood for his books Truman and John Adams which were made into series for HBO. And McCullough himself made appearances on screen in a few Ken Burn's documentaries on PBS's American Experience.
He received the Presidental Medal of Freedom in 2006, and for his 80th birthday, Pittsburgh renamed the 16th Street Bridge the “David McCullough Bridge.”
In his lifetime he wrote 13 books, all of which were top-selling titles.
“David McCullough was a national treasure. His books brought history to life for millions of readers. Through his biographies, he dramatically illustrated the most ennobling parts of the American character," Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp said in a statement.
He is survived by his children Melissa (John McDonald), David, Jr. (Janice), William (Cissy), Geoffrey (Signe), Dorie (Tim Lawson), nineteen grandchildren, two great-grandchildren.
Funeral and memorial service details have yet to be released.
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