John Hall Archer, (July 11, 1914 – April 5, 2004) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

librarian, historian, and civil servant, and the first President of the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...

. Born just south of

Broadview, Saskatchewan Broadview is a community in Saskatchewan along the #1 highway, the Trans Canada Highway, east of Regina. The local economy is based mainly on agriculture. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Rural Municipality of Elcapo No. 154 ...

, he was a rural school teacher from 1933 to 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/The ...

and was discharged with the rank of captain in 1945. In 1973, he was made an honorary colonel. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1947 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1948 from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 1949, he received a

Bachelor of Library Science The bachelor of library science (or “bachelor of library and information science”) is a degree sometimes awarded to students majoring in library science. It is commonly abbreviated as “B.L.S.”, “B.Lib.”, or “B.L.I.S.”, often with t ...

degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. From 1951 to 1964, he was the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

librarian and from 1956 to 1961 he was the assistant clerk of the Legislature. From 1957 to 1962, he was the provincial archivist. From 1962 to 1964, he was chairman of the Committee on Continuing Education in Saskatchewan. From 1964 to 1967, he was the director of libraries at McGill University. From 1967 to 1970, he was an archivist and associate professor of history at Queen's University. He earned his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree from Queen's University. In 1970, he became the principal of the Regina campus of the University of Saskatchewan and became the first president of the University of Regina in 1974 and served until 1976. In 1980, he wrote the book ''Saskatchewan A History'' (). In 1980, he was made an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In 1987, he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. The Dr. John Archer Library, the University of Regina's main library, is named in his honour. He was married to Alice and had two children: John and Mary.

References

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External links

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan entry

Biography of J.H. Archer
at Ex Libris Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, John Canadian male non-fiction writers Historians of Canada Canadian university and college chief executives Canadian librarians McGill University School of Information Studies alumni Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit Officers of the Order of Canada Queen's University at Kingston alumni Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston University of Saskatchewan alumni 1914 births 2004 deaths People from Broadview, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan civil servants 20th-century Canadian historians