Leopold, Richard W. 1912-2006 (Richard William Leopold)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born January 6, 1912, in New York, NY; died of complications from congestive heart failure, November 23, 2006, in Evanston, IL. Historian, educator, and author. A Northwestern University professor emeritus, Leopold was one of an elite group of historians known as the "American Quartet." He did his undergraduate work at Princeton University, earning a B.A. summa cum laude before going on to Harvard. Here he completed his M.A. in 1934 and his Ph.D. in 1938. Leopold was an instructor at Harvard when World War II broke out. He enlisted in the navy, serving stateside for the duration. After the war, he returned to Harvard as an assistant professor. He joined the Northwestern faculty in 1948 and was made William Smith Mason Professor of American History in 1963. Leopold retired in 1980. Along with Harvard professors Arthur Link and Ray Billington, and history professor Clarence Ver Steeg, Leopold was part of the highly regarded quartet who contributed greatly to American history scholarship. He was the author of such books as Robert Dale Owen: A Biography (1940) and The Growth of American Foreign Policy: A History (1962), coauthor of Problems in American History (1952; 4th edition, 1972), and contributor to many other texts. His last major contribution was to the book The Wilson Era (1991).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, December 2, 2006, section 1A, p. 11; December 3, 2006, Section 4, p. 6.

Washington Post, December 10, 2006, p. C8.