Robert H. "Bob" Zieger (August 2, 1938 – March 6, 2013) was a labor historian whose research focused on the

labor history of the United States The labor history of the United States describes the history of organized labor, US labor law, and more general history of working people, in the United States. Beginning in the 1930s, unions became important allies of the Democratic Party. T ...

Biography

Early years

Robert H. Zieger was born August 2, 1938, in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

to John and Grace (Harman) Zieger. He married Gay Pitman in 1962. They had one child, Robert, and a granddaughter Persephone Zieger. Zieger received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Montclair State College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

in 1960, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in 1961, and his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in history from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1965.

Career

Zieger obtained an appointment as an assistant professor of history at the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees, as well as ...

in 1964, rising to associate professor by 1973. He was an associate professor of history at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

from 1973 to 1977, and a professor of history at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

from 1977 to 1986. In 1986, Zieger was appointed professor of history at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He was named Distinguished Professor of History in 1998. Zieger’s teaching style was very student oriented. He used a very detailed website that allows people taking his class to fully understand every single day of lecture. Also, he was adamant about making sure his undergraduates come prepared to discuss the material to be covered in class. This has twofold benefit, as it not only ensures preparation, but also allows students to boost their grade with frequent quizzes covering the reading material.

Awards and memberships

Zieger's books have twice won the

Philip Taft Labor History Book Award The Philip Taft Labor History Book Award is sponsored by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in cooperation with the Labor and Working-Class History Association for books relating to labor history of the United States. L ...

for the best book in labor history. In 1985, Zieger's ''Rebuilding the Pulp and Paper Workers' Union, 1933–1941'' was a Taft Prize co-winner with

Paul Avrich Paul Avrich (August 4, 1931 – February 16, 2006) was a historian of the 19th and early 20th century anarchist movement in Russia and the United States. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York, for his entire career, from 1961 ...

's ''The Haymarket Tragedy.'' Zieger won the Taft Prize again in 1995 for his 1994 book, ''The CIO, 1935–1955.'' Zieger was a member of the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

and the

Southern Historical Association The Southern Historical Association is a professional academic organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States. It was organized on November 2, 1934. Its objectives are the promotion of interest and research in Sou ...

. He was also a member of the Historians of American Communism, and served as the organization's president from 1989 to 1992.

Children

Zieger had one child, who he named after himself. A Michigan native, Robert attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and after a foray into social work, received his M.A.T. from Duke University. In the course of his career, he has taught a range of social studies courses in the United States, Pakistan, Myanmar, Indonesia, the D.R. Congo, and Bolivia. Robert Zieger currently teaches Social Studies and Psychology at Dunecrest American School, Dubai.

Works

* ''Robin Hood in the Silk City: The I.W.W. and the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913.'' Newark, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Society, 1966. * ''Republicans and Labor, 1919–1929.'' Lexington, Ky.: University of Kentucky Press, 1969
online
* ''Madison's Battery Workers, 1934–1952: A History of Federal Labor Union 19587.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1977
online
* ''Rebuilding the Pulp and Paper Workers' Union, 1933–1941.'' Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1985
online
* ''John L. Lewis: Labor Leader.'' New York: Twayne Publishers, 1988
online
* ''Organized Labor in the Twentieth-Century South.'' Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1991
online
* ''Labor on the March.'' With Edward Levinson. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1995 * ''Southern Labor in Transition, 1940–1995.'' Robert H. Zieger, ed. Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1997. * ''The CIO, 1935–1955'' (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997
online
ref> * ''America's Great War: World War 1 and the American Experience.'' Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2000
online
* ''American Workers, American Unions: The Twentieth Century.'' With Gilbert J. Gail. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 3rd edition 2002
online
* ''For Jobs and Freedom: Race and Labor in America since 1865.'' Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2007.

Footnotes

*''Who's Who in America.'' 59th ed. New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who, 2005.

External links

Philip Taft Labor History Book AwardSouthern Historical AssociationIn Memoriam Announcement from UF's Department of History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zieger, Robert Historians from New Jersey Historians of the United States People from Englewood, New Jersey Labor historians Montclair State University alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni 1938 births 2013 deaths University of Florida faculty Historians of the Industrial Workers of the World Wayne State University faculty