Rhys Llywelyn Isaac (20 November 1937 – 6 October 2010) was a South African-born Australian historian of American history who also worked in the United States. Small picture of Rhys with book 1983

Isaac and his twin brother Glynn were born in

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, to William Edwyn Isaac and

Frances Margaret Leighton Frances Margaret Leighton (8 March 1909 – 8 January 2006) was a South African botanist and educator. After graduating from Rhodes University with her M.Sc degree in 1931, she worked at the Bolus Herbarium until 1947. Her primary research intere ...

, both professional botanists. Isaac earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. In 1959 he was the Cape Province Rhodes Scholar at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

(Oxford), earning his Ph.D. in 1962. In 1963 Isaac emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, where he taught at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

, and later at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

(1971–91), where he was emeritus professor of American history. In 1975 he was a distinguished visiting professor of early American history at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. Isaac won the 1983

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

for History for his book '' The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790'' (1982), becoming the first and only Australian historian to win a

. In 2004 Isaac published ''Landon Carter's Uneasy Kingdom: Revolution and Rebellion on a Virginia Plantation'', which made use of the exemplary diary of a Virginian landholder and member of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

Death

Isaac died at his home in

Blairgowrie, Victoria Blairgowrie is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately south of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Blairgowrie ...

, Australia, on 6 October 2010, aged 72, from cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Rhys L. 1937 births People from Cape Town 2010 deaths 20th-century South African historians Colony of Virginia Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the Southern United States History of the Thirteen Colonies Historians of the United States Academic staff of La Trobe University College of William & Mary faculty Pulitzer Prize for History winners Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) 20th-century Australian historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers