Kenneth William Kirkpatrick McNaught (1918–1997) was a Canadian historian. He is known for his 1959 biography of

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

founder J. S. Woodsworth, ''A Prophet in Politics'', and his 1982 book ''The Pelican History of Canada''. McNaught was born on 10 November 1918 to a family of middle-class leftists in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He was the grandson of the Ontario MLA

William Kirkpatrick McNaught William Kirkpatrick McNaught (September 6, 1845 – February 2, 1919) was an Ontario manufacturer and political figure. He represented Toronto North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1906 to 1914 as a Conservative member. Backgro ...

. McNaught attended

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

before receiving 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 ...

in 1941 from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. During the

Second World War 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 Ordnance Corps The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC; french: Corps royal canadien des munitions, ''CRCM'') was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps RCOC can trace its roots back to the Canadian Stores Department. ...

. After the war, he returned to the University of Toronto, receiving 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 1946 and a

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 in 1950. His doctoral supervisor was Frank Underhill. From 1947 to 1959, he was a professor of history at United College (now the University of Winnipeg). He resigned in 1959 in protest of the college's dismissal of Harry Crowe. Later that year, he was appointed assistant professor of history at the University of Toronto. He was promoted to a full professorship in 1965 and served until 1989. From 1959 to 1969, he was a contributing editor at '' Saturday Night''. In 1996, 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 ...

"for his courage and integrity in defending academic freedom, and for his contributions in moving the country's political discourse beyond the classroom into the public domain". He died in Toronto on 2 June 1997.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

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Kenneth W. McNaught archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
1918 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Canadian historians 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian Anglicans Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian socialists Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Officers of the Order of Canada University of Toronto alumni University of Toronto faculty Upper Canada College alumni Writers from Toronto {{Canada-historian-stub