Rexford G. Newcomb (April 24, 1886 – March 16, 1968) was an American architectural historian.

Biography

Newcomb was born in

Independence, Kansas Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. History Independence w ...

, on April 24, 1886. After undergraduate study at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, he earned both a second bachelor's degree in architecture and a master's in architecture at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, and a master of arts at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He married Ruth Bergen on October 24, 1911 in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

; they had three children. After stints teaching at the

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

and Long Beach Evening High School, University of Southern California and

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, Newcomb returned to the University of Illinois as a faculty member in 1918. He remained there until 1954. He served as dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts from 1932 to 1954. He was also the second president of the

Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago in the United States, the Society's 3,500 members include ...

. Newcomb died on March 16, 1968, at Princeton, Illinois.

Recognition

Newcomb was elected a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

in 1940, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1928. His book ''Architecture of the Old Northwest Territory'' was the 1950 winner of the

Alice Davis Hitchcock Award The Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award, established in 1949, by the Society of Architectural Historians, annually recognizes "the most distinguished work of scholarship in the history of architecture published by a North American scholar." The oldes ...

. Newcomb's collected papers are held by the University of Illinois library system.

Selected books

* Reprinted by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

in 1973, . * . Republished as ''Outlines of the History of Architecture'' in four separate volumes by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1931–1939. * * * * * * Reprinted by

in 1990. * * * Reviews of ''Architecture in Old Kentucky'': * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcomb, Rexford 1886 births 1968 deaths American architectural historians University of Kansas alumni University of Illinois School of Architecture alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Southern California faculty Texas A&M University faculty American university and college faculty deans Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Historians from Texas Historians from California 20th-century American academics