Roy Lubove (September 3, 1934 – February 17, 1995) was an American social historian. He was professor of social welfare and history at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and the author of a number of social histories.

Biography

Lubove was born in

Jackson Heights, Queens Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, and today northern Astoria ( Ditm ...

on September 3, 1934, to a family of Polish immigrants. He matriculated at the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

and earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia College in 1956. He earned his doctorate from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1960 under historian

David Brion Davis David Brion Davis (February 16, 1927 – April 14, 2019) was an American intellectual and cultural historian, and a leading authority on slavery and abolition in the Western world. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, ...

, and joined the faculty of Harvard University that year. His childhood experience living in densely developed Jackson Heights influenced his lifelong interest in studying the structure of neighborhoods, urban planning, and landscape design, and his upbringing during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

inspired him to study poverty and social welfare. In 1963, Lubove joined the faculty of the

. He was a professor of history and social studies with dual appointments in the university's departments of social work and history. Lubove was the author of a number of influential and widely cited social histories, including ''The Struggle for Social Security, 1900-1935'' (1968), ''The Professional Altruist: The Emergence of Social Work as a Career, 1880-1930'' (1968), and ''Twentieth Century Pittsburgh, Vol. 1: Government, Business and Change'' (1969). He was credited for a number of scholarly contributions to the study of urban, social welfare, and planning history, such as by proposing a new conceptual framework for urban history, one that emphasized decision-making, social organization, and urban change, and provided what Raymond A. Mohl calls "one of the best historical case studies of urban response to deindustrialization" in his book ''Twentieth Century Pittsburgh, Vol. 2: The Post-Steel Era'' (1995)''.'' Lubove was a founding director of

Preservation Pittsburgh Preservation Pittsburgh is a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1991 to support the preservation of historic, architectural, cultural, and environmental sites and buildings within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History Founded by Mary J. Paradise, ...

and was a longtime advocate of preserving Pittsburgh's historical cityscape. Lubove died of respiratory failure on February 17, 1995, at the Montefiore Hospital, Pittsburgh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubove, Roy 1934 births 1995 deaths People from Jackson Heights, Queens Columbia College (New York) alumni Cornell University alumni Harvard University faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty American historians 20th-century American historians The Bronx High School of Science alumni