Martin Ridge (May 7, 1923 - Sept. 22, 2003) was an American historian and director of research at the

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Ma ...

.Susan Wladaver-Morgan.
In Memoriam: Martin Ridge (1923-2003)
" in ''Perspectives on History,'' March 2004. He is particularly known for the 1982 5th edition of "Westward expansion: a history of the American frontier" co-authored with Ray Allen Billington. Dunaway, Wilma A. ''The first American frontier: Transition to capitalism in Southern Appalachia, 1700-1860.'' Univ of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Biography

Born and raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Ridge attended Francis W Parker School. He wanted to become an elementary school teacher, and obtained his BEd at the Chicago Teachers College, now

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...

in 1943. After serving in the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

in World War II, he continued his studies at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where he obtained his PhD in 1951 under Ray Allen Billington with the thesis, ''

Ignatius Donnelly Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 – January 1, 1901) was an American Congressman, populist writer, and fringe scientist. He is known primarily now for his fringe theories concerning Atlantis, Catastrophism (especially the idea of an ...

: The Making of a Tribune.'' In 1962 the work was revised and expanded, and was published as ''Ignatius Donnelly: Portrait of a Politician.'' After graduation in 1951 Ridge embarked upon his academic career as lecturer at Westminster College. In 1955 he moved to

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

; from 1966 to 1977 he taught at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, where he edited the ''Journal of American History''. In 1977 he moved to southern California when he was appointed director of research at

, and joined the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

faculty. Ridge served at the Huntington Library until his retirement in 1993, and at Caltech until 1995. Ridge was editor of the ''

Journal of American History ''The Journal of American History'' is the official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', the official jo ...

'' (JAH) from 1966 to 1978. He was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowships Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative abi ...

in 1965. He co-founded the

Western History Association The Western History Association (WHA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1961 at Santa Fe, New Mexico by Ray Allen Billington et al. Included in the field of study are the American West and western Canada. The Western History A ...

in 1961 and served as its president.

Selected publications

* Ray Allen Billington, Martin Ridge. ''Western Expansion: A History of the American Frontier.'' UNM Press. 1949; 2002. * Martin Ridge.
Ignatius Donnelly: The Portrait of a Politician
'' PhD thesis revised and expanded, University of Chicago Press. 1962. * Annenberg School of Communications (University of Southern California). Center for Study of the American Experience, & Ridge, M. (1981). ''The New Bilingualism: An American Dilemma: Proceedings of a Conference Sponsored by Center for Study of the American Experience, the Annenberg School of Communications, University of Southern California, May 1980.'' Los Angeles, Calif.: University of Southern California Press; New Brunswick, NJ. Articles, a selection: * Ridge, Martin. "The Life of an Idea: The Significance of

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...

's Frontier Thesis." '' Montana: The Magazine of Western History'' (1991): 2-13. * Ridge, Martin. "The American West: From Frontier to Region." ''

New Mexico Historical Review New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

'' 64.2 (1989).

References

External links

Martin Ridge (1923-2003) - American Historical Association Martin Ridge (1923-2003)
American Historical Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridge, Martin 1923 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers Chicago State University alumni Northwestern University alumni Westminster College (Pennsylvania) faculty San Diego State University faculty California Institute of Technology faculty People from Chicago People associated with the Huntington Library Historians from Illinois 20th-century American male writers United States Merchant Mariners of World War II