Thank you for passing on this information. What a sad loss, all too early!
I first encountered Isaac in his "The Transformation of Virginia,
1740-1790" and still stand in awe of his special combination of scholarship and
writing style. His work was foundational in my own thinking about that period
in our nation's life.
Despite never having met him, I share in the sense of loss those who knew
and worked with him must feel.
Warren Napier, PhD
Affiliate Faculty, College for Professional Studies
Regis University
In a message dated 10/12/2010 7:35:22 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
The following announcement from the College of William and Mary,
http://www.wm.edu/news/pressreleases/2010/former-history-professor-rhys-isaac-dead-at
-72.php
, announces an immeasurable loss for all those who study early
Virginia history or explore the terrain where historical and
ethnographic scholarship intersect.
--Jurretta Heckscher
Former history professor Rhys Isaac dead at 72
by Staff | October 7, 2010
Rhys Isaac, former Distinguished Visiting Professor of Early American
History at the College, has died of cancer. He was 72.
Isaac, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for his book “The
Transformation of Virginia, 1740 -1790,” enjoyed an exemplary career
in teaching and research, most especially in his scholarship on
Colonial North America. He remains the only Australian historian ever
to win a Pulitzer.
Isaac served several stints at William & Mary. He came in August 1998
and spent a year as the James Pinckney Harrison Professor of History.
He returned from August 2002 to December 2005, and again from August
2006 to December of that year as a Visiting Distinguished Professor of
History and a research associate with the Colonial Williamsburg
Foundation.
“The Department of History was saddened to learn today of the passing
of Professor Rhys Isaac, our friend and colleague, who enriched the
College of William & Mary with his deep knowledge of, and love for,
the history of Colonial Virginia," said Phil Daileader, chairman of
the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Department of History. “To those of us who had
the privilege and honor of working alongside Rhys, he is remembered as
much for his generosity and for his irrepressibly boisterous high
spirits as for his scholarly accomplishments.
"Even as Rhys grew increasingly ill during the last few months, he
continued to write notes of great grace, beauty, and hope to his
friends and colleagues at William & Mary. The College always remained
in his thoughts; Rhys remained, and will always remain, in ours.”
The bulk of this teaching career – 1971-1999 -- was spent at La Trobe
University in Victoria, Australia, where he was known for his astute
advice to colleagues on their research presentations, their drafts,
articles and books.
“There will be few of us who have not been touched in some way by the
generous advice of this scholar of such rare qualities,” said Jim
Hammerton, Head of the School of Historical and European Studies at La
Trobe. “I know that his loss will be deeply felt.”
The funeral will be private. A memorial service is being planned.
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