Tuesday, September 27, 2016

R. Craig Brown 1935-2016 RIP


Soon after the death of his colleague and co-author Ramsay Cook comes news of the passing of Craig Brown, longtime professor and academic leader at the University of Toronto history department, and author of several works in twentieth century Canadian history, notably the two-volume biography of Prime Minister Robert Borden.

Craig Brown personified the avuncular, pipe-smoking professor people probably imagine all historians to be. When we worked together on the Illustrated History of Canada, he always called me "young fellow" -- when I was approaching forty.  (Given the profession's graybeard image, historians get to be young for a long time, I realized.)  But I noticed the trust, confidence, and admiration scores of historians placed in him, and the number of scholars who worked and co-published with him. I suspect they will be stepping forward in coming days.  
 
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