Name Rodman Paul Role Author | ||
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Died May 15, 1987, Pasadena, California, United States Awards Guggenheim Fellowship for Humanities, US & Canada Books Mining frontiers of the Far W, California Gold: The Beginnin, The Far West and the Great, The Universality of Califor | ||
Education Harvard University (1943) | ||
Rodman Wilson Paul (1912–1987) was an American historian who taught at the California Institute of Technology. He was known primarily as a foremost authority on California mining and agricultural history.
Life and career
Paul was born in Philadelphia and raised near Boston. He received his AB (1936), AM (1937) and PhD (1943) from Harvard. His PhD adviser at Harvard was Frederick Merk. From 1943 to 1946 he served in the Navy Reserve. In 1947 he went to Caltech. His choice for going there was partly based on an interest he developed in the history of the far West after a trip he took to Arizona to recuperate from an illness. He eventually became the Edward S. Harkness Professor of History. After retirement in 1972, he continued work as a researcher at the Huntington Library.
Paul wrote many books and articles, and was recognized with several awards including the 1984 Henry R. Wagner Memorial Award. He was a fellow of the California Historical Society, served on the board of the Pasadena and Santa Barbara historical societies, and was a member of the NASA Historical Advisory Committee. The Mining History Association's Rodman Paul Award recognizes individuals who have contributed to the understanding of American mining history.