W. Roger Graham

Who is W. Roger Graham?

William Roger Graham, PhD, LLD, FRSC was a Canadian academic historian whose area of specialization was 20th-century Canadian political history. Born in Montreal March 10, 1919, Graham lived in Chicago, IL, where his father, William Creighton Graham, was a professor of Old Testament history, before moving with his family to Winnipeg, MB, Canada when his father became principal of what was then United College. After completing his BA in history at United College, where he held the senior male student appointment of "Senior Stick" in his graduating year, Graham moved to Toronto where he completed his MA and PhD at the University of Toronto after marrying Kathleen McGirr. In 1946, Graham took his first academic position at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, teaching there for one year before moving in 1947 to the Regina College, where he taught until 1958, when he accepted a position in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan, thus moving back to Saskatoon. In 1968, he took up the position of Douglas Professor of Canadian History at Queen's University in Kingston, ON, where he remained until his retirement in 1984, serving a three-year term as chair of the Department of History and winning election to the Royal Society of Canada. In 1969, the University of Winnipeg awarded him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. He died in Kingston on November 17, 1988.