Laurence David Lafore (born Laurence Davis Lafore, 1917,

Narberth, Pennsylvania Narberth is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of many neighborhoods on the historic Philadelphia Main Line. The population was 4,282 at the 2010 census. History Narberth is located on a parcel of land origin ...

-November 24, 1985, Iowa City,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

) was an American historian.

Background

Lafore was born into a wealthy family off the Main Line of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The Lafore family was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

family that fled France following the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

. The family fled first to England and then to North America, landing in 1701. The Lafores of

were relatively distinguished and Lafore followed his father and grandfather in leading a

charity called the "Société des Bienfaisances Françaises," which was founded in the late 18th century to aid the aristocratic refugees fleeing the Reign of Terror of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. It was the original intent of Marie Antoinette or her supporters that she would make her way to Philadelphia and build a new life there. Lafore graduated from Swarthmore College and the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. One of Lafore's brothers, John A. Lafore, Jr., was a United States congressman from Pennsylvania and a president of the American Kennel Club.

World War II

For a short period during the post-war reconstruction period, Lafore worked for the American State Department in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France. He later spoke of the contrast between the superficial luxury of the palace where they had their offices and the freezing conditions, which required personnel to wear overcoats indoors.

Academic career

Lafore joined the faculty at Swarthmore College in 1946 and taught there until 1969. In that year he joined the history faculty at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, where he taught until his retirement in May 1984.

Publications

History

While Lafore published informally in numerous outlets, including

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

, he is best known for three works of history: ''The Long Fuse'' (1965), about the origins of

World War I 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 ...

; ''The End Of Glory'' (1970), about the origins of

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 opposing ...

; and ''Days Of Emperor and Clown: The Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1936'' (1973).

Historic preservation

Lafore's friendship with fellow Swarthmore professor

Sarah Lee Lippincott Sarah Lee Lippincott (October 26, 1920 – February 28, 2019), also known as Sarah Lee Lippincott Zimmerman, was an American astronomer. She was professor emerita of astronomy at Swarthmore College and director emerita of the college's Sproul Obs ...

resulted in their 1965 book
Philadelphia: The Unexpected City
'. He later wrote the 1975 book ''American Classic'' about his adopted city of Iowa City,

. Lafore is buried at

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring P ...

Bala Cynwyd Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two separ ...

, Pennsylvania. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafore, Laurence 1917 births 1985 deaths Swarthmore College faculty 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers