Page Smith

Who was Page Smith?

Charles Page Smith, who was known by his middle name, was a U.S. historian, professor, author, and newspaper columnist.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Smith graduated with a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1940. He then worked at Camp William James, a center for youth leadership training opened in 1940 by Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, a Dartmouth College professor, as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Smith was awarded a Purple Heart for his service as a company commander of the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army during World War II.

After the war, he studied American history under Samuel Eliot Morison at Harvard College, receiving his M.A. degree in 1948, and Ph.D. degree in 1951.

After receiving his doctorate, Smith began work as a research associate at the Institute of Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1951. He then taught history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. From 1953 to 1964, he was a professor of history at UCLA. In 1964, he became the founding provost of Cowell College, the first college of the University of California, Santa Cruz. He taught history at UCSC until 1973 when he retired as a Professor Emeritus of History.