John Michael Francis (born 1968) is a Canadian historian. Francis was born in 1968 and raised in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history, with honors, as well as a Master of Arts in the same subject, from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. He then completed a PhD at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1998. Francis taught at the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public university, public research university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern ...

from 1997 to 2012, when he joined the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

campus of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

as Hough Family Chair of Florida Studies. Between 2016 and 2020, Francis also served as chair of the USF Department of History and Politics. In September 2021,

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

appointed Francis to a two-year term on the Florida Historical Commission. In October 2021, Francis was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

of Spain. Francis founded a digital archive, '' La Florida'', in 2018. The archive won the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation's 2024 Florida Preservation Award for communications and media.

Selected books

* * *Reviews of ''Invading Colombia'' include: * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, J. Michael Living people Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Historians of Florida Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of Alberta alumni University of North Florida faculty University of South Florida faculty Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Digital archivists Historians from Alberta Historians of Colonial North America 21st-century Canadian historians Canadian expatriate academics in the United States 20th-century Canadian historians Historians of Colombia 1968 births Canadian archivists