Gerald (Gerry) Ernest Panting (May 17, 1927 —December 3, 1998) was a

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

professor specializing in

maritime history Maritime history is the study of human interaction with and activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant. As an academic subject, it ...

, and leader of the

Newfoundland NDP The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party (NL NDP) is a social democratic political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in 1961 as the successor to ...

from 1974 to 1977. Panting was the longtime head of the department of history at Memorial University, until 1976, and founder of the university's Maritime History Group and was the author of texts on maritime shipping and shipbuilding."LIVES LIVED: GERALD ERNEST PANTING", Sullivan, J M. The Globe and Mail (1936-); Toronto, Ont.. 11 Feb 1999: A22. He ran for the Newfoundland and Labrador NDP provincially five times, coming in a strong second in the

1975 Newfoundland general election The 1975 Newfoundland general election was held on 16 September 1975 to elect members of the 37th General Assembly of Newfoundland. It was won by the Progressive Conservative party. Results Results by district *Names in boldface type repr ...

and ran in one federal election, running in

Gander—Twillingate Gander—Twillingate was a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1988. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Bonavista—Twillingate and Gra ...

in the

1984 Canadian federal election The 1984 Canadian federal election was held on September 4, 1984, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 33rd Canadian Parliament, 33rd Parliament of Canada, following the dissolution of the House on July 9. ...

. A dedicated party builder, Panting remained active within the NDP until his death in 1998. His parents were Ernie Panting, a truck driver, and Violet May Panting and had two sisters. Before entering academia, he worked in the accounting office of

Canada Packers Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a Canadian multinational consumer-packaged meats and food production company. Its head office is in Mississauga, Ontario. History Maple Leaf Foods is the result of the 1991 merger between Canada Packers and Maple ...

and as a payroll officer for the Department of National Defence in

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a subarctic port town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leadi ...

. He met Margaret Lyttle in 1948, later marrying her. Panting earned a Masters of Arts degree from United College (now the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

) after which he returned to Newfoundland in 1959 to lecture at Memorial University. He became head of the history department, a position he held until 1976, and oversaw its expansion from five to 25 professors. He co-founded the Maritime History Group which would develop the world's largest maritime

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

. He continued teaching at the university until his retirement in 1994, when he was diagnosed with

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. He died from the disease in 1997. His son,

Sean Panting Sean Panting is a songwriter, musician and actor based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Career Panting is a founding member of the iconic Newfoundland bands Drive and Kelly Russell & The Planks. Between 2000 and 2020, he has released si ...

, is an actor who ran for the Newfoundland NDP in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panting, Gerald 1927 births 1998 deaths Leaders of the Newfoundland and Labrador CCF/NDP Candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador provincial elections Academic staff of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Historians of Atlantic Canada Maritime historians Candidates in the 1984 Canadian federal election New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Newfoundland and Labrador candidates for Member of Parliament