[2][3][4] Born and raised in Pittsburgh, McCullough earned a degree in English literature from Yale University.

His first book was The Johnstown Flood (1968), and he wrote nine more on such topics as Harry S. Truman, John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Panama Canal, and the Wright brothers.

[3] One of four sons, McCullough had a "marvelous" childhood with a wide range of interests, including sports and drawing cartoons.

[11] Wilder, said McCullough, taught him that a competent writer maintains "an air of freedom" in the storyline, so that a reader will not anticipate the outcome, even if the book is non-fiction.

[14] He served apprenticeships at Time, Life, the United States Information Agency, and American Heritage,[11] where he enjoyed research.

"[11] While attending Yale, McCullough studied Arts and earned his bachelor's degree in English, with the intention of becoming a fiction writer or playwright.

"[9][4] McCullough "had no anticipation that [he] was going to write history, but [he] stumbled upon a story that [he] thought was powerful, exciting, and very worth telling.

[19] After the success of The Johnstown Flood, two new publishers offered him contracts, one to write about the Great Chicago Fire and another about the San Francisco earthquake.

[10] Trying not to become "Bad News McCullough",[20] he decided to write about a subject showing "people were not always foolish and inept or irresponsible.

"[20] He remembered the words of his Yale teacher: "[Thornton] Wilder said he got the idea for a book or a play when he wanted to learn about something.

[10] Five years later, The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914 was released, gaining McCullough widespread recognition.

[24] Later in 1977, McCullough travelled to the White House to advise Jimmy Carter and the United States Senate on the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which would give Panama control of the Canal.

[25] Released in 1981, Mornings on Horseback tells the story of seventeen years in the life of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States.

[29] Written over twenty years, the book[30] includes essays about Louis Agassiz, Alexander von Humboldt, John and Washington Roebling, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Conrad Richter, and Frederic Remington.

[33] The DVD version of the miniseries includes the biographical documentary, David McCullough: Painting with Words.

[34] McCullough's 1776 tells the story of the founding year of the United States, focusing on George Washington, the amateur Continental Army, and other struggles for independence.

[36][37] The book covers 19th-century Americans, including Mark Twain and Samuel Morse, who migrated to Paris and went on to achieve importance in culture or innovation.

[52] After a period of failing health, McCullough died at his home in Hingham on August 7, 2022, just two months after his wife's death, at age 89.

[54] McCullough was awarded more than 40 honorary degrees, including one from the Eastern Nazarene College in John Adams' hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts.

"[65] The New York Times critic John Leonard wrote that McCullough was "incapable of writing a page of bad prose.

[2] In December 2012, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania announced that it would rename the 16th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh in honor of McCullough.

[31] McCullough narrated numerous documentaries directed by Ken Burns, including the Emmy Award–winning The Civil War,[31] the Academy Award–nominated Brooklyn Bridge,[75] The Statue of Liberty,[76] and The Congress.

[77] He served as a guest narrator for The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert special that aired on PBS in 2010.