Angus McLaren (December 20, 1942 – June 7, 2024)Jesse McLaren and Arlene McLaren.
Dinner conversation with Angus McLaren could include the history of sexuality, film and jokes'
Globe and Mail, December 26, 2024. was professor emeritus of history at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

in British Columbia, and a leading figure in the

history of sexuality ''The History of Sexuality'' () is a four-volume study of sexuality in the Western world by the French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, in which the author examines the emergence of "sexuality" as a discursive object and separate spher ...

.Mullens, Anne (February 9, 2009)
Sexual Explorer
''University Affairs''. Retrieved February 15, 2025.Veronica Strong Boag. �
Angus McLaren, 1942-2024
''’Intersections, volume 7, issue 3''. Canadian Historical Association 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2025.

Early life and education

McLaren was born to Lillian (née Brown) and Thomas Smiles McLaren in

East Vancouver East Vancouver (also called East Van or the East Side) is a region within the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to the ea ...

. He completed a honours degree in French history from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1965. After graduation and marrying Arlene Tigar, he pursued, thanks to a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a PhD in history at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. With the allure of going to Paris, he continued in French history and conducted research during the tumultuous years surrounding

May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

in Paris. Dissatisfied with his research on an unknown French journalist, he was amazed to discover in his final year at Harvard that history has more tantalizing subjects to offer. He credits the visiting scholar,

Theodore Zeldin Theodore Zeldin (born 22 August 1933) is a British academic and current Associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford. He is the author of ''A History of French Passions'', a quotidian history of the French people, as well as ''An Intim ...

, for whom he was an assistant, of revealing how history could examine the passions and practices of everyday life. Thus began McLaren's illustrious career on the history of sexuality, gender, and reproduction.

Career

At the beginning of his academic career, McLaren taught at the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

and then

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

. From 1975-2007, the

was his academic home. He was also a Visiting Fellow at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford, a Life Fellow at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It was est ...

, and a Visiting Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

SSHRC The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; , CRSH), often colloquially pronounced 'shirk' (), is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and training in the humani ...

(Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) generously supported his research. McLaren was the author of more than a dozen books; some were translated into many languages. As a socio-cultural historian of medicine, he drew upon legal, medical, archival, newspaper, and literary sources over a range of issues from

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, impotence (

erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a Human penis, penile erection with sufficient rigidity and durat ...

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there i ...

, and

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

in Western contexts such as France, UK, and North America. He was known to have skillfully challenged the boundaries of existing scholarship. With the sociologist Arlene Tigar McLaren, he wrote the first book on the history of birth control and

abortion in Canada Abortion in Canada is legal throughout pregnancy and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal '' Canada Health Act'' and provincial health-care systems. However, access to services and resources varie ...

, ''The Bedroom and the State: The Changing Practices and Politics of Contraception and Abortion in Canada, 1880-1980.''

Personal life

For several decades, McLaren lived in Vancouver with his spouse, Arlene, and son, Jesse, and commuted by ferry to his university in Victoria. During the last few years of his life, he struggled with

Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Awards and honours

McLaren won numerous scholarly awards for his work – including the1993 Hannah Medal (history of medicine) by the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

for his book ''Our Own Master Race: Eugenics in Canada, 1885-1945'', and the 2008 Bonnie and Vern L Bullough Book Award (history of sexuality) by the

Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS, or "quad-S") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional membership organization "dedicated to advancing knowledge of sexuality and communicating scientifically based sexuality research and scholar ...

for his book ''Impotence: A Cultural History''. McLaren was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1999, and in 2003 was named University of Victoria Distinguished Professor. In 2008 he was awarded the prestigious

Molson prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

that recognizes outstanding lifetime achievements to the cultural and intellectual life of Canada.Pitts, Patty (February 14, 2011)
McLaren Wins Molson Prize
''UVic News''. University of Victoria. Retrieved February 15, 2025. As the Molson jury explained: 'Angus McLaren is an imaginative and prolific historian who has increased significantly our understanding of sexuality, gender and reproduction, and other related topics'. McLaren was the first historian in western Canada to receive the award. To continue his legacy, a scholarship was established at the University of Victoria: Dr. Angus McLaren Graduate Scholarship in Social History of Medicine, Sexuality, Reproduction and/or Gender.Dr. Angus McLaren Graduate Scholarship in Social History of Medicine, Sexuality, Reproduction and/or Gender
Uvic.ca. Retrieved February 15, 2025.

Selected publications

** McLaren, Angus (1978). ''Birth Control in Nineteenth-Century'' ''England''. London, United Kingdom: Croom Helm. ISBN 9780856645044 ** McLaren, Angus (1983). ''Sexuality and Social Order: The'' ''Debate over the Fertility of Women and Workers in France, 1770-1920.'' London, United Kingdom: Holmes and Meier Publishers. ISBN 9780841907447 ** McLaren, Angus (1984). ''Reproductive Rituals: The Perception'' ''of Fertility in England from the Sixteenth Century to the Nineteenth Century.'' London, United Kingdom:

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

. ISBN 9780367434519 ** McLaren, Angus and McLaren, Arlene Tigar (1986). ''The Bedroom and the State: The Changing Practices and Politics of'' ''Contraception and Abortion in Canada, 1880-1980''. Toronto:

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

. ISBN 9780195413182 ** McLaren, Angus (1990). ''Our Own Master Race: Eugenics in'' ''Canada, 1885-1945.'' Toronto, Canada:

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. History The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its ...

. ISBN 9781442659643 ** McLaren, Angus (1992). ''A History of Contraception: From'' ''Antiquity to the Present Day,'' Oxford, United Kingdom:

Blackwell Publishing Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publis ...

. ISBN 9780631187295 ** McLaren, Angus (1993). ''A Prescription for Murder: The'' ''Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream''. Chicago, IL:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

. ISBN 9780226560687 ** McLaren, Angus (1997). ''The Trials of Masculinity: Policing'' ''Sexual Boundaries, 1870-1930''. Chicago, IL:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It publishes a wide range ...

. ISBN 9780226500690 ** McLaren, Angus (1999). ''Twentieth-Century Sexuality: A'' ''History.'' Oxford, United Kingdom:

''.'' ISBN 9780631208129 ** McLaren, Angus (2002). ''Sexual Blackmail: A Modern History.'' Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

. ISBN 9780674009240 ** McLaren, Angus (2007). ''Impotence: A Cultural History''. Chicago, IL:

. ISBN 9780226500935 ** McLaren, Angus (2012). ''Reproduction by'' ''Design: Sex, Robots, Trees, and Test-Tube Babies in Interwar Britain''. Chicago, IL:

. ISBN 9780226560694 ** McLaren, Angus (2017). ''Playboys and Mayfair Men: Crime,'' ''Class, Masculinity, and Fascism in 1930s London''. Baltimore, MD:

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

. ISBN 9781421423470

References

1942 births 2024 deaths Academic staff of the University of Victoria Historians of sexuality University of British Columbia alumni Harvard University alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada {{historian-stub