--- title: "13 History Write Quotes by 11 authors" description: "Browse 13 History Write quotes by 11 authors. Discover the best History Write sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/otto-von-bismarck-3444_history_the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to_1324479.png" --- > [The main thing is to make history, not to write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to-write-it/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/otto-von-bismarck-3444_history_the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to_1324479.png) > [“Don't let history write itself for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-stobbe/don-t-let-history-write-itself-for-you/) [Christine Stobbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-stobbe/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/christine-stobbe-228084_history_don-t-let-history-write-itself-for-you-3_3203041.jpg) > [History should not be left to the historians. Rather, be like Churchill. Make history, and then write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/history-should-not-be-left-to-the-historians-rather-be-like-churchill/) [Ferdinand Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-marcos/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/ferdinand-marcos-10352_historians_history-should-not-be-left-to-the-histor_2912738.jpg) > [“History is what we write, not what we remember. Why should we tarnish the memory of our planet by enshrining our less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/history-is-what-we-write-not-what-we-remember-why-should-we-tarnish/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/alastair-reynolds-2186_history_history-is-what-we-write-not-what-we-rem_878380.jpg) > [History is simply a piece of paper covered with print: the main thing is to make history, not to write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/history-is-simply-a-piece-of-paper-covered-with-print-the-main-thing/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/otto-von-bismarck-3444_covered_history-is-simply-a-piece-of-paper-cover_2646725.png) > [“Isn't better to excel in your work than wasting time on fruitless things ... after all to become the history, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-zeeshan-ahmed/isn-t-better-to-excel-in-your-work-than-wasting-time-on-fruitless/) [Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-zeeshan-ahmed/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/dr-zeeshan-ahmed-52051_history_isn-t-better-to-excel-in-your-work-than_751207.jpg) > [“Why would you keep quiet and allow history to write itself when there is something you can do to rewrite history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/why-would-you-keep-quiet-and-allow-history-to-write-itself-when-there/) [Anyaele Sam Chiyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anyaele-sam-chiyson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/anyaele-sam-chiyson-481_history_why-would-you-keep-quiet-and-allow-histo_2297510.jpg) > [Hindsight's a wonderful thing. If we all had it there would be no history to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-if-we-all-had-it-there-would-be-no/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-if-we-all_1938527.jpg) > [“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing,” Klara said. “If we all had it there would be no history to write about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-klara-said-if-we-all-had-it-there-would/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-klara-said_2006893.jpg) > [The people around you are you. They share your history. They can even write it with you. And when you lose one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-wallace/the-people-around-you-are-you-they-share-your-history-they-can-even/) [Danny Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-wallace/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/danny-wallace-10686_doubt_the-people-around-you-are-you-they-share_1307011.png) > [What makes a good writer of history is a guy who is suspicious. Suspicion marks the real difference between the man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a-guy-who-is-suspicious/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/jim-bishop-21544_differences_what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a_106901.png) > [So much history, if you or I were to write it, could seem a fiction. These separations, these lines that tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/so-much-history-if-you-or-i-were-to-write-it-could-seem-a-fiction/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/jamaica-kincaid-1540_books_so-much-history-if-you-or-i-were-to-writ_709741.png) > [History is one of the only fields where contributions by amateurs are taken seriously, providing you follow the rules and document your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where-contributions-by-amateurs-are/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/george-dyson-25639_amateur_history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where_1335492.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-write/#itemlist", "name": "History Write Quotes", "numberOfItems": 13, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The main thing is to make history, not to write it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Otto von Bismarck" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to-write-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/otto-von-bismarck-3444_history_the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to_1324479.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/otto-von-bismarck-3444_history_the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to_1324479.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/otto-von-bismarck-3444_history_the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to_1324479.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The main thing is to make history, not to write it.” — Otto von Bismarck", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don't let history write itself for you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christine Stobbe" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-stobbe/don-t-let-history-write-itself-for-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/christine-stobbe-228084_history_don-t-let-history-write-itself-for-you-3_3203041.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/christine-stobbe-228084_history_don-t-let-history-write-itself-for-you-3_3203041.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fab/christine-stobbe-228084_history_don-t-let-history-write-itself-for-you-3_3203041.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't let history write itself for you.” — Christine Stobbe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History should not be left to the historians. Rather, be like Churchill. Make history, and then write it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ferdinand Marcos" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/history-should-not-be-left-to-the-historians-rather-be-like-churchill/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/ferdinand-marcos-10352_historians_history-should-not-be-left-to-the-histor_2912738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/ferdinand-marcos-10352_historians_history-should-not-be-left-to-the-histor_2912738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bd/ferdinand-marcos-10352_historians_history-should-not-be-left-to-the-histor_2912738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History should not be left to the historians. Rather, be like Churchill. Make history, and then write it.” — Ferdinand Marcos", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“History is what we write, not what we remember. Why should we tarnish the memory of our planet by enshrining our less then noble deeds?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alastair Reynolds" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/history-is-what-we-write-not-what-we-remember-why-should-we-tarnish/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/alastair-reynolds-2186_history_history-is-what-we-write-not-what-we-rem_878380.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/alastair-reynolds-2186_history_history-is-what-we-write-not-what-we-rem_878380.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/alastair-reynolds-2186_history_history-is-what-we-write-not-what-we-rem_878380.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is what we write, not what we remember. Why should we tarnish the memory of our planet by enshrining…” — Alastair Reynolds", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is simply a piece of paper covered with print: the main thing is to make history, not to write it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Otto von Bismarck" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/history-is-simply-a-piece-of-paper-covered-with-print-the-main-thing/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/otto-von-bismarck-3444_covered_history-is-simply-a-piece-of-paper-cover_2646725.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/otto-von-bismarck-3444_covered_history-is-simply-a-piece-of-paper-cover_2646725.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7d/otto-von-bismarck-3444_covered_history-is-simply-a-piece-of-paper-cover_2646725.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is simply a piece of paper covered with print: the main thing is to make history, not to write it.” — Otto von Bismarck", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Isn't better to excel in your work than wasting time on fruitless things ... after all to become the history, you have to write it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-zeeshan-ahmed/isn-t-better-to-excel-in-your-work-than-wasting-time-on-fruitless/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/dr-zeeshan-ahmed-52051_history_isn-t-better-to-excel-in-your-work-than_751207.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/dr-zeeshan-ahmed-52051_history_isn-t-better-to-excel-in-your-work-than_751207.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/dr-zeeshan-ahmed-52051_history_isn-t-better-to-excel-in-your-work-than_751207.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Isn't better to excel in your work than wasting time on fruitless things ... after all to become the…” — Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why would you keep quiet and allow history to write itself when there is something you can do to rewrite history.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anyaele Sam Chiyson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/why-would-you-keep-quiet-and-allow-history-to-write-itself-when-there/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/anyaele-sam-chiyson-481_history_why-would-you-keep-quiet-and-allow-histo_2297510.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/anyaele-sam-chiyson-481_history_why-would-you-keep-quiet-and-allow-histo_2297510.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bb/anyaele-sam-chiyson-481_history_why-would-you-keep-quiet-and-allow-histo_2297510.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why would you keep quiet and allow history to write itself when there is something you can do to rewrite…” — Anyaele Sam Chiyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hindsight's a wonderful thing. If we all had it there would be no history to write about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Atkinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-if-we-all-had-it-there-would-be-no/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-if-we-all_1938527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-if-we-all_1938527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a0/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-if-we-all_1938527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hindsight's a wonderful thing. If we all had it there would be no history to write about.” — Kate Atkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing,” Klara said. “If we all had it there would be no history to write about.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Atkinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-klara-said-if-we-all-had-it-there-would/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-klara-said_2006893.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-klara-said_2006893.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/kate-atkinson-1265_hindsight_hindsight-s-a-wonderful-thing-klara-said_2006893.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing,” Klara said. “If we all had it there would be no history to write about.” — Kate Atkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The people around you are you. They share your history. They can even write it with you. And when you lose one, there's no doubt you lose some of yourself, however they're lost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Danny Wallace" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-wallace/the-people-around-you-are-you-they-share-your-history-they-can-even/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/danny-wallace-10686_doubt_the-people-around-you-are-you-they-share_1307011.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/danny-wallace-10686_doubt_the-people-around-you-are-you-they-share_1307011.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/danny-wallace-10686_doubt_the-people-around-you-are-you-they-share_1307011.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The people around you are you. They share your history. They can even write it with you. And when you lose…” — Danny Wallace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What makes a good writer of history is a guy who is suspicious. Suspicion marks the real difference between the man who wants to write honest history and the one who'd rather write a good story.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Bishop" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a-guy-who-is-suspicious/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/jim-bishop-21544_differences_what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a_106901.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/jim-bishop-21544_differences_what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a_106901.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/jim-bishop-21544_differences_what-makes-a-good-writer-of-history-is-a_106901.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What makes a good writer of history is a guy who is suspicious. Suspicion marks the real difference between…” — Jim Bishop", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So much history, if you or I were to write it, could seem a fiction. These separations, these lines that tell us this is fiction or non-fiction, that this is history or this is a novel, are often useless.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jamaica Kincaid" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/so-much-history-if-you-or-i-were-to-write-it-could-seem-a-fiction/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/jamaica-kincaid-1540_books_so-much-history-if-you-or-i-were-to-writ_709741.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/jamaica-kincaid-1540_books_so-much-history-if-you-or-i-were-to-writ_709741.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/jamaica-kincaid-1540_books_so-much-history-if-you-or-i-were-to-writ_709741.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So much history, if you or I were to write it, could seem a fiction. These separations, these lines that…” — Jamaica Kincaid", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is one of the only fields where contributions by amateurs are taken seriously, providing you follow the rules and document your sources. In history, it's what you write, not what your credentials are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Dyson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where-contributions-by-amateurs-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/george-dyson-25639_amateur_history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where_1335492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/george-dyson-25639_amateur_history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where_1335492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/george-dyson-25639_amateur_history-is-one-of-the-only-fields-where_1335492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is one of the only fields where contributions by amateurs are taken seriously, providing you follow…” — George Dyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-write/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-write/", "name": "History Write Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-write/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14b/otto-von-bismarck-3444_history_the-main-thing-is-to-make-history-not-to_1324479.png" }, "description": "Browse 13 History Write quotes by 11 authors. 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