Robert Leonard Reynolds (January 17, 1902 − April 29, 1966) was an American historian.

Biography

Robert Leonard Reynolds was born in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...

, on January 17, 1902. He attended elementary and high school in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. Reynolds studied at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, where he received his B.A. in 1923 and his M.A. in 1925. After gaining his M.A. Reynolds briefly studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and then returned to Milwaukee to work as a real estate salesman. He gained his Ph.D. from the University of Milwaukee in 1928. In 1929 Reynolds returned to Europe conduct post-graduate research. Here he worked at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

and became a member of the U.S. Relief Commission. By 1931, Reynolds had returned to the United States, where he was appointed an assistant professor of medieval and economic history at the University of Wisconsin. Since 1938 he was a full professor at the University of Wisconsin. When visiting

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

in 1938, Reynolds established a life-long friendship with the Italian historian Robert Sabatino Lopez, with whom he would later write a seven volume history of Italy. Reynolds was a member of the Alien Enemies Hearing Board in 1941. He joined the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS) in 1942. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Reynolds served both in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He earned a certificate of merit from

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

on behalf of the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

. After World War II, Reynolds returned to academia. In 1948 he helped form the University of Wisconsin's Integrated Liberal Studies program. From 1950 to 1951 he did research in the Genoese National Archives as a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

fellow. Reynolds was the author of numerous books and scholarly articles on the economic history of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. He was a member of the

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was forme ...

fraternity, the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

, the

Economic History Association The Economic History Association (EHA) was founded in 1940 to "encourage and promote teaching, research, and publication on every phase of economic history and to help preserve and administer materials for research in economic history". It publi ...

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until ) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes the q ...

, the Italian National Academy, the Belgian Historical Studies Society, and an honorary member of the Ligurian and Pavian Historical Society. In 1952, Reynolds served as Vice-President of the Economic History Association. Reynolds was an active member of the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...

. He also served in the Wisconsin Civil Liberties Union. Reynolds was married to Sarah Brown Chickering, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. He died in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, after a long illness on April 29, 1966. He was survived by his two sons.

References

External links

Robert R. Reynolds
at Find a Grave 1902 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American Civil Liberties Union people American Congregationalists American economic historians American medievalists Academic staff of Ghent University People from Janesville, Wisconsin People of the Office of Strategic Services University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Wisconsin Democrats Academics from Wisconsin Historians from Wisconsin American male non-fiction writers {{US-historian-stub

Biography

References

Further reading

External links