James C. Klotter is an American historian who has served as the State Historian of Kentucky since 1980.^[1][2] Klotter is also a history professor at Georgetown College and one of the co-authors of Kentucky's staple history book, A New History of Kentucky.

Klotter received a Ph.D. in History from the University of Kentucky, and he has been awarded honorary degrees from Eastern Kentucky University and Union College.^[1] Klotter was the executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society for many years, and he was an associate editor of the Kentucky Encyclopedia.^[1] In 2015, the Boyd County High School chapter of the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society was named in his honor.^[3] In 2022, he was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame for 2022 by the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.^[4]

As of 2017, Klotter lives with his wife in Lexington, Kentucky.^[1]

Major works

• Kentucky: Decades of Discord, 1865-1900. (1977).^[5]
• William Goebel: The Politics of Wrath. Lexington, Kentucky. (1977).^[6]
• Genealogies of Kentucky Families, from the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Volume O – Y. (1981)
• The Breckinridges of Kentucky, 1760-1981. (1986)^[5]
• History Mysteries: The Cases of James Harrod, Tecumseh, “Honest Dick” Tate, and William Goebel (1989).^[5]
• Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900-1950. (1996)
• Kentucky Justice, Southern Humor, and American Manhood: Understanding the Life and Death of Richard Reid. (1997)
• A New History of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky. (1997)
• Faces of Kentucky with Freda Klotter. (2008)
• A Concise History of Kentucky with Freda Klotter. (2008)^[7][8]
• Appalachian Ghost Stories: Tales from Bloody Breathitt. Klotter wrote the foreword. (2012)^[9][10]
• In Defense of Clio (2016)^[5]
• Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President (2018) ^[5]