George Athan Billias (June 26, 1919 – August 16, 2018) was an American historian.

Early life

Billias was born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

, and graduated from Lynn English High School in 1937. He received his B.A. from

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

in 1948 and his Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1958. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1941 and became a medical administrative officer in 1942."Dr. Billias Named To Clark Staff"
''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

'', Bangor, Maine, volume 73, number 296, May 29, 1962, page 5.George Billias obituary
/ref> 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 ...

, he received the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for gallantry in evacuating wounded from the Remagen bridgehead during the Battle for the Ludendorf Bridge across the Rhine River in March 1945.General John Glover and His Marblehead Mariners, Dustjacket He served as a civilian National Defense Historian with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1951 to 1954 and was at the Eastern Air Defense Force in Stewart Air Force Base, Newburgh, New York.

Career

Billias held the Jacob and Frances Hiatt Chair at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

from 1983 until his retirement in 1989. Following his retirement, he was awarded emeritus professor status. He has written several books, including ''George Washington's Generals And Opponents'' (1994) and ''General John Glover and His Marblehead Mariners'' (1960), as well as edited several collections including ''American Constitutionalism Abroad: Selected Essays in Comparative Constitutional History'' (1990). Billias also wrote ''Eldridge Gerry: Founding Father and Republican Statesman''. One of his early works was ''The Massachusetts Landbankers of 1740'' published in 1959 by the University of Maine Press. He specialized in Colonial, Revolutionary War era, and Early National period America, with special emphasis on economic, military, legal, and constitutional subjects. Later, he focused on the influence of the American constitution on the world. His book ''American Constitutionalism Around the World, 1776–1989'' (New York University Press, 2009) won the New England Historical Association's 2010 book award. Historian

Gordon S. Wood Gordon Stewart Wood (born November 27, 1933) is an American historian and professor at Brown University. He is a recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' The Radicalism of the American Revolution'' (1992). His book ''The Creation ...

stated at a 1989 symposium honoring Billias that also included Milton M. Klein, Drew McCoy, Isaac Kramnick, Lance Banning, and Peter S. Onuf: :In my opinion, George Billias epitomizes the working historian; he is the craftsman who represents the heart and soul of what we as a profession are about. He demonstrates why history is a discipline. He doesn't waste time wondering abstractly about truth and objectivity and musing about the possibilities of actually representing past reality. He just does history. Day in and day out he writes the books and articles that become the essential stuff of our cumulative effort to recover our past. Without the products of hardworking scholars like Billias, there would be no historical discipline and nothing of what we think of as history.Gordon S Wood, "Afterword," ''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society'' (April 1992, Volume 102 Issue 1, pages 205-213, quote page 205.

Death

Billias died on August 16, 2018, at his home in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, at the age of 99.

Early life

Career

Death

Sources

Further reading