Robert David Parmet (''Stylized as Robert D. Parmet''; born December 11, 1938) is an American writer and teacher. He is a professor of history at

York College, City University of New York York College is a public senior college in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, United States. It is a senior college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Founded in 1966, York was the first senior college founded under the newly fo ...

Career

Parmet taught at Newark State College (now known as

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated rese ...

) from 1965 to 1967 in the Social Science Department, and is currently employed at CUNY York and has worked there since its opening in 1967. He has written four books on American social history from 1961 to 2012. Additionally he has written for many papers such as the

History News Network History News Network (HNN) is an online platform for historians to comment on current events, and to place today's news into a historical perspective. HNN is hosted by the University of Richmond. History History News Network (HNN) is a non-profi ...

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

, and International Labor and Working-Class History under the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. He has written extensively about labor and unions in 20th-century America, including those of women, immigrants, and of

David Dubinsky David Dubinsky (; born David Isaac Dobnievski; February 22, 1892 – September 17, 1982) was a Belarusian-born American labor leader and politician. He served as president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) between 1932 a ...

. In 1968, he received a $2,000 grant ($18,234.20 USD in 2024) to write a biography on American senator

Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, a ...

. It was published in 1970. Parmet retired from full-time teaching at York College in Spring 2025 after 57 years.

Personal life

Parmet was born in New York City in 1938. He is the son of Isaac Parmet and Fannie (née Scharf) and is the brother of American historian Herbert Parmet. He received a B.A. (1960) from City College, and M.A. (1961) and Ph.D. (1966) degrees 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 ...

.''Directory of American Scholars'', 6th ed. (

Bowker Bowker is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alan Bowker, Canadian diplomat and educator * Albert H. Bowker (1919–2008), American educator * Aldrich Bowker (1875–1947), American actor * Art Bowker (born 1961), Americ ...

, 1974), Vol. I, p. 482. He taught at City College while attending Graduate School. His master's thesis, "Cleveland, Blaine, and New York's Irish in the election of 1884," was written under the supervision of John A. Garraty. His doctoral dissertation, "The Know-Nothings in Connecticut," was written under the supervision of Eric McKitrick. Parmet was married to Joan Levy on June 8, 1963. She received her Masters in History from

in 1965. They have a son, Andrew.

Bibliography

Books

* * * *

Papers

* Parmet, Robert D. (1966). "Connecticut's

Know-Nothings The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock nativist political movement in the United States in the 1850s. Members of the m ...

: A Profile." ''

Connecticut Historical Society The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, formerly the Connecticut Historical Society, is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the official state historical society of Connecticut. Established in Hartford in 1825, the Connecticu ...

Bulletin'' 31 (3): 84–90. * Parmet, Robert D. (1970). "The Presidential Fever of

." ''

New York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

Quarterly'' 54 (3): 268-290. * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Robert Parmet at CUNY York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parmet, Robert 1938 births Writers from the Bronx Educators from New York City The Bronx High School of Science alumni York College, City University of New York faculty Kean University faculty Jewish American academics Jewish American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Columbia University alumni