James George Eayrs (13 October 1926 – 6 February 2021) was a Canadian historian.

Biography

Eayrs won the

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

at the

1965 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1965 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. Winners English Language *Poetry or Drama: Al Purdy, ''The Cariboo Horses''. *Non-Fiction: J ...

for his book ''In Defence of Canada: From the Great War to the Great Depression''. The book, which examined Canadian military and defence policy during the period between the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, was the first in a multi-volume series on Canadian military history and was followed by ''In Defence of Canada, Vol. 2: Appeasement and Rearmament'' (1965), ''In Defence of Canada: Peacemaking and Deterrence'' (1972), ''In Defence of Canada: Growing Up Allied'' (1980) and ''In Defence of Canada: Indochina, Roots of Complicity'' (1983). A professor of history at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and later at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, he was awarded the

Canada Council Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and humanities. The prize ...

in 1984 and was named a

fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Canada judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life ...

. His wife,

Elizabeth Eayrs Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...

, sat on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

from 1972 to 1978.

References

1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian male non-fiction writers Columbia University alumni Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto {{Canada-writer-stub