Thomas H. O'Connor (1923-2012) was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and university historian of

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

who published hundreds of books and academic papers on Boston,

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

. O'Connor was known as "the dean of Boston historians".

Biography

Thomas Henry O'Connor was born on December 9, 1922, in

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

. He was one of three children of John F. O’Connor, a mail carrier, and Marie O'Connor (née Meany), an office worker. As a child he loved to read and was always interested in history. He attended Gate of Heaven elementary school in South Boston. In the eighth grade he won a citywide essay competition and was presented with a silver medal by Governor

James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterized ...

. He attended

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

, working part-time at the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...

Copley Square Copley Square , named for painter John Singleton Copley, is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to it ...

, and graduated in 1942. During his freshman year at

, he joined the army and served in the

China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

during World War II. In 1946 he returned to his studies and his job at the library. He was also the staff cartoonist for ''The Stylus'', the college's literary magazine, and ''The Heights'', the student newspaper. In 1949 he married his co-worker at the library, Mary MacDonald. In 1950 he received his master's degree from Boston College and was offered a teaching job, which he accepted. While teaching at Boston College he studied American History at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1957. He remained at Boston College for the rest of his life. He was chairman of the history department through the 1960s, became a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1993, and in 1999 was named university historian. That same year, he received Boston Latin's Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Eire Society of Boston Gold Medal. In addition to teaching at Boston College, Dr. O'Connor taught at the

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the extension school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is one among 12 schools that grant degrees and falls under the Division of Continuing Education in the Harvard Faculty of Arts ...

for many years, and served on the Massachusetts Archives Commission, the National Bicentennial Commission, and the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. He died at his home in

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

, on May 20, 2012.

Selected works

* ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

and the

Cotton Trade Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

''.

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. 1961. * ''The Heritage of the American People''.

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Allyn and Bacon Allyn & Bacon, founded in 1868, is a higher education textbook publisher in the areas of education, humanities and social sciences. It is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Pearson Education, the world's largest education publishing and technolog ...

. 1965. * ''Lords of the

Loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

: The Cotton Whigs and the Coming of the Civil War''. New York : Scribner. 1968. * ''The Disunited States: The Era of

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

''. New York :

Dodd, Mead and Company Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...

. 1972. * ''Religion and American Society''. Boston :

Addison-Wesley Addison-Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson PLC, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributes its technical titles through ...

. 1975 * ''Bibles,

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

, and Bosses: A Short History of Boston''. Boston :

. 1976. * ''Fitzpatrick's Boston, 1846-1866:

John Bernard Fitzpatrick John Bernard Fitzpatrick (November 1, 1812 – February 13, 1866) was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Boston from 1846 until his death in 1866. Early life and education Fitzpatrick was born in Boston, Ma ...

, Third Bishop of Boston''. Boston : Northeastern University Press. 1984. * ''

, My Home Town: The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood''. Boston : Quinlan Press. 1988. * ''Building a New Boston: Politics and

Urban Renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

, 1950-1970''. Boston :

Northeastern University Press The University Press of New England (UPNE), located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and founded in 1970, was a university press consortium including Brandeis University, Dartmouth College (its host member), Tufts University, the University of New Hampsh ...

. 1993. * '' Boston Irish: A Political History''. Boston : Northeastern University Press. 1995. * ''Boston

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

: A History of the Church and its People''. Boston : Northeastern University Press. 1998. * ''Civil War Boston: Home Front and Battlefield''. Boston : Northeastern University Press. 1998. * ''Boston A to Z''.

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

. 2000. * ''The Hub: Boston Past and Present''. Boston : Northeastern University Press. 2001. * ''Eminent Bostonians''. Cambridge : Harvard University Press. 2002. * ''The

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

of America: Boston, 1825-1845''.

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...

: University of Massachusetts Press. 2006. * ''Two Centuries of Faith: The Influence of Catholicism on Boston, 1808-2008''. New York : Crossroad Pub. Co. 2009.

References

External links

Thomas H. O'Connor on WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Thomas H. Historians of the United States Writers from Boston Boston College alumni 1923 births 2012 deaths Harvard Extension School faculty United States Army personnel of World War II People from South Boston Boston Latin School alumni Boston University alumni