obituaries

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/24/20
  

  Katherine Johnson, ‘hidden figure’ at NASA during 1960s space race, dies at 101

  Mrs. Johnson, who died Feb. 24 at 101, went on to develop equations that helped the NACA and its successor, NASA, send astronauts into orbit and, later, to the moon.

• 
• SOURCE: Haaretz
  2/18/20
  

  George Steiner: The Last Viennese Jew

  by Arie M. Dubnov

  The Holocaust was an impulsive rebellion by 'polytheistic instincts' against the 'noble tyranny' of Jewish monotheism, claimed Jewish American essayist and literary critic George Steiner, who passed away this month, aged 90.

• 
• SOURCE: BerkeleySide
  2/13/20
  

  Remembering Georgia Sommers Wright, art historian, scholar, filmmaker

  Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Georgia earned her BA from Swarthmore College, her Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University and her MBA from UC Berkeley. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Gazette
  2/12/20
  

  Longtime University of Iowa Jeff Cox, 72, championed candidates and his kids

  In addition to his longtime position as tenured professor of British social, imperial and religious history at the University of Iowa — where he also served in leadership positions including chair of the History Department and president of the Faculty Senate — Cox was widely involved in the community.

• 
• SOURCE: Vogue
  2/7/20
  

  Remembering Alice Mayhew, a True “Editor of Genius”

  Alice Mayhew edited for Bob Woodward, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Walter Isaacson, among others.

• 
• SOURCE: Just Security
  1/29/20
  

  The Obituaries of Republicans Who Opposed Nixon’s Impeachment

  by Ryan Goodman

  Regardless of whether the congressmen voted for or against the articles of impeachment, their legacies were largely defined by this one moment.

• 
• 1/19/20
  

  Remembering Dennis Showalter, Grandmaster of Military History

  by Paul A. Thomsen

  On the evening of December 30, 2019, Dennis Showalter, a noted scholar of German, American, and military history, fought his last battle and rode off on a pale horse.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/7/20
  

  James Goode, Smithsonian historian of Washington statues and architecture, dies at 80

  James M. Goode was a Smithsonian Institution historian and author who wrote books about the statues and architecture of Washington, specializing in the out-of-the-way, the lesser-known, the trivial, the no-longer extant and the never-heard-of.

• 
• SOURCE: Foreign Affairs
  1/1/20
  

  Remembering Michael Howard: Soldier, Scholar, Sage of Military History

  Sir Michael Howard, who died on November 30, 2019, a day after his 97th birthday, was a giant in the worlds of military history and strategic studies. 

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  12/31/19
  

  Gertrude Himmelfarb, Conservative Historian of Ideas, Dies at 97

  Her arguments that a little more virtuousness trumps any number of government social programs made her a hero to some and a bête noire to others.

• 
• SOURCE: Politico
  12/29/19
  

  Alan Brinkley: The Historian Who Illuminated the Present Day

  by Nicholas Lemann

  His historical research and writing was substantially about American politics and government in modern times.

• 
• SOURCE: Cornell Chronicle
  12/23/19
  

  Eminent historian Isaac Kramnick dies at 81

  Isaac Kramnick, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government Emeritus, a renowned scholar of English and American political thought and history, and a longtime champion of undergraduate education, died Dec. 21 in New York City. Kramnick was 81.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  12/26/19
  

  In a Year of Notable Deaths, a World of Women Who Shattered Ceilings

  Their breakthroughs were in law, science, music and business, and, like the more famous who died this year, they left indelible legacies.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  12/13/19
  

  William McFeely, historian who received Pulitzer Prize, dies at 89

  The author of acclaimed biographies of Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass, he also helped establish Yale’s black studies department.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  11/19/19
  

  Jack O’Dell, King Aide Fired Over Communist Past, Dies at 96

  He worked on fund-raising and voter registration for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Then President Kennedy insisted on his dismissal.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  11/21/19
  

  William Loren Katz, Historian of African-Americans, Dies at 92

  He documented the often overlooked contributions of black people in books for young adults, helping to refashion social studies curriculums across the country.

• 
• SOURCE: Brown Daily Herald
  11/19/19
  

  Beloved University professor passes away at 64

  Robert Douglas Cope remembered for compassion, engaging lectures.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  11/20/19
  

  Dorothy Seymour Mills, who received belated credit for husband's baseball books, dies at 91

  Seymour praised his wife, then known as Dorothy Z. Seymour, for her “indispensable” work in his acknowledgments, but her contributions turned out to be much greater than most people realized.

• 
• SOURCE: Collegiate Times
  11/8/19
  

  Distinguished professor, civil war historian James I. “Bud” Robertson Jr. passes away

  Robertson started his journey with Virginia Tech after joining the faculty in 1967, where he taught the nation’s largest Civil War history course, attracting 300 students each semester.

• 
• SOURCE: LA Times
  11/11/19
  

  Noel Ignatiev, scholar who called for abolishing whiteness, dies at 78

  Ignatiev’s ideas have continued to be controversial, particularly as race has returned to the center of American politics.