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Richard Holbrook Brown

Richard Brown Obituary

Brown, Richard Holbrook Distinguished historian, educator and Academic Vice President of the Newberry Library, Richard H. Brown died January 16, 2019, after a brief illness. He was 91. Born in Boston, MA to Joseph R. and Sylvia (Cook) Brown, he grew up in Pasadena, CA, and graduated from Yale College in 1949. He earned a Ph.D. in American history, also at Yale, in 1955. He taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at Northern Illinois University, and directed the Amherst Project, formally known as the Committee on Teaching History, an innovative program for training teachers of history to use primary source materials. He was the author of The Hero and the People: The Meaning of Jacksonian Democracy (1964), a number of influential textbooks, and The Ideal Library of the Continent (2012), which recounts the founding of the Newberry Library. At the Newberry he served successively as director of the Seminar in the Humanities, Associate Director for Research and Education, and Academic Vice President until his retirement in 1994. He is credited with creating the Newberry's groundbreaking research and education programs, which have been imitated widely in research libraries around the U.S., and he was mentor and friend to many young historians who passed through the Newberry. He was also a co-founder of the Chicago Metro History Fair, a member of the Ogden School Local School Council, and a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs. He was preceded in death by his partner of 38 years, William Lloyd Barber. Burial will be private, and a memorial is planned for spring at the Newberry.



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Published by Chicago Sun-Times on Jan. 27, 2019.

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January 29, 2019

My condolences to the Brown family during this difficult time

A D

January 29, 2019

My deepest sympathies to the family. You can find comfort in knowing, our Heavenly Father has promised we will see our love ones again (Acts 21:15).

FG Rich

January 29, 2019

Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss. May the words at Hosea 13:14 help comfort you during this difficult time.

January 29, 2019

With deepest sympathy on the loss of your loved one. May it comfort you to know that he will return to the days of his youthful vigor as promised at Job 33:25.

January 29, 2019

My condolences to the family. May the wonderful memories of your loved one comfort you until the God of love promises are fulfilled. 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14

Z L

January 29, 2019

My sincere condolences to your family for the loss of your love one. May the God of comfort be with you during this sad occasion and may his loving words at John 6:40 console your heart.

B Berkman

January 28, 2019

As one of the long-ago students who passed through one of his Newberry programs, deepest sympathy to his friends and family.

CC

January 28, 2019

To the family of Richard Holbrook Brown. May the love of family and friends comfort you. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Mt. 5:4.

V R

January 28, 2019

My deepest sympathy for your loss. May you find comfort in the knowing that God cares for you and will comfort and sustain your family in the days ahead. (1 Cor 1:3-4)

January 27, 2019

No words can describe how sorry I am for your loss. 2 Thessalonians 2:16

January 27, 2019

To the family of Richard Brown, sorry for your precious loss May the promise of Isaiah 35:5,6 give you comfort and hope in the days to come.

January 27, 2019

I am sorry for your loss. Please take comfort in Psalms 29:11, knowing that in difficult times like this, God gives peace and strength. DM

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