Warren Dean (1932, Passaic, New Jersey – 21 May 1994, Santiago de Chile) was a prize-winning historian of modern Latin America, specializing in Brazil as well as environmental history. Following his accidental death by asphyxiation due to a defective gas line in his rented apartment, the Warren Dean Prize was established by the

Conference on Latin American History Conference on Latin American History, (CLAH), founded in 1926, is the professional organization of Latin American historians affiliated with the American Historical Association. It publishes the journal ''The Hispanic American Historical Review''. ...

in 1995.

Early life

Dean was born in New Jersey and moved with his family to Miami when he was 14 years old. He attended University of Miami, completed the Reserve Officer Training Corps program and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. During the Korean War he was an air traffic controller in Maine. Following military service, he entered the program in Latin American history at University of Florida, completing his dissertation in 1964 entitled “São Paulo's industrial élite, 1890–1960.”

Academic career

Following completion of his doctorate, he taught at

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

(1965–70) and moved to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, where he remained until his death. His first monograph, ''The Industrialization of São Paulo'' (1969), was based on his dissertation work; his second monograph ''Rio Claro: A Brazilian Plantation System, 1820–1920'' (1976) received Honorable Mention for the Conference on Latin American History’s Bolton Prize, “awarded for the best book in English on any significant aspect of Latin American History that is published anywhere during the imprint year previous to the year of the award.”. His final monograph on

environmental history Environmental history is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time, emphasising the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs and vice versa. Environmental history first emerged in the United States out of th ...

''With Broadax and Firebrand: The Destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal Forest'' (1995) won the Bolton-Johnson Prize posthumously. He was awarded a

John Simon Guggenheim Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

Fellowship in 1980, and became a member of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He served on the editorial board of the ''

Hispanic American Historical Review ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'' is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal of Latin American history, the official publication of the Conference on Latin American History, the professional organization of Latin American historian ...

''. Dean organized the American Committee for Information on Brazil, during the military dictatorship in that country, documenting and denouncing the use of torture.Levine, “Warren Dean” p. 691.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Warren (historian) Latin Americanists Brazilianists Historians of Latin America Historians of Brazil University of Miami alumni University of Florida alumni University of Texas faculty New York University faculty 1932 births 1994 deaths Deaths from asphyxiation Environmental historians