MENLO SCHOOL • SINCE 1915

Charles Hanson

Upper School History

History Teacher

Biography

I have been teaching at Menlo since 1999 and have served as chair of the Upper School History Department since 2004. I currently teach AP US History to juniors and AP Economics to seniors. I also edit the Menlo Roundtable, a journal of student writing and research.

I grew up in Massachusetts and attended high school there and in British Columbia before majoring in Economics at Harvard. My first teaching position was at an international school in New Mexico, after which I changed fields to study American history at UC Berkeley.  My book, Necessary Virtue: The Pragmatic Origins of Religious Liberty in New England, was published by the University of Virginia Press. I then taught at Doane College in Nebraska and at an international school in Italy before coming to Menlo.

My wife, Katharine, and I met in a singing group at Cal and still enjoy making music when we can, though most of our time is spent chasing our three young children around the house.