Michael Jerome Gillis (1949 – April 7, 2007) was an American academic and writer.
Life and career
Born in
Walpole, Massachusetts
Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Walpole Town, as the Census refers to it, is located about south of downtown Boston and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population of Walpole was 26,383 at the 2020 censu ...
, Gillis served as a history instructor at Butte College (1981–1985) and, for twenty-five years, as a lecturer at
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university h ...
. Professor Gillis was greatly admired by many of his students for his interesting lectures and warm personality.
His articles and reviews have appeared in the History/Social Science Journal, Diggins (Butte County Historical Society), the Dogtown Territorian Quarterly, now known as The California Territorial Quarterly, John Muir Newsletter, Overland Journal, Canadian Social Studies, California History, the American Indian Quarterly, Journal of the West, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, and Nevada Historical Society Quarterly.
During the course of his career, Gillis published three books (see bibliography). As part of his research for the Bidwell book, Gillis undertook an exploratory backpacking trip during which he and his wife located and retraced the probable route taken by the
Bartleson-Bidwell Party during its famous trek across the
Sierra Nevada in 1841. Gillis later published an account of the trip, along with his findings, in an article that appeared in the Winter 1998–99 issue of the ''Overland Journal''.
Gillis served as vice president of the Bidwell Mansion Association (1997–2000) and was a member of the association's board of directors from 1995 to 2005. Gillis was also a member of the Butte County Historical Society and the Association for Northern California Records and Research, serving as ANCRR's president from 1994 to 1998.
He was known and respected by every historian on the Western seaboard and was an emeritus professor.
Gillis died April 7 at
Stanford University Medical Center after a 10-month battle with a rare liver disease called
primary sclerosing cholangitis
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a long-term progressive disease of the liver and gallbladder characterized by inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts, which normally allow bile to drain from the gallbladder. Affected individuals may ha ...
.
Bibliography
*Gillis, Michael J. (editor) (1990). Essays in North American Indian History. Kendall/Hunt. .
*Gillis, Michael J.; Michael Magliari (2003). John Bidwell and California: The Life and Writings of a Pioneer, 1841-1900 (Western Frontiersmen Series, 30). Spokane: Arthur H. Clark. .
*Gillis, Michael J. (2004). Soper-Wheeler Company: A Century of Tree Farming. Documentary Media LLC and
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
. .
References
External links
Review of John Bidwell and California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillis, Michael
1949 births
2007 deaths
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
American male non-fiction writers
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
California State University, Chico faculty
Historians from California
Historians from Massachusetts
Historians of the United States
People from Chico, California
Writers from Boston