William Kaye Lamb

Who was William Kaye Lamb?

William Kaye Lamb, OC FRSC was a Canadian historian, archivist, librarian, and civil servant.

Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Lamb received his B.A. in 1927 and M.A. in 1930 from the University of British Columbia. He completed his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics in 1933, under the tutelage of Harold Laski. From 1936 to 1937, he was President of the British Columbia Historical Federation. From 1934 to 1940, he was the Provincial Archivist and Librarian of British Columbia. In 1936, he was also appointed Superintendent of the BC Public Libraries Commission. From 1940 to 1948, he was the University Librarian of the University of British Columbia. From 1948 to 1968 he was the Dominion Archivist of Canada, and from 1953 to 1968 he was the first National Librarian of Canada.

In 1949, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was its president from 1965 to 1966. In 1969, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Between 1964-1965 he served as president of the Society of American Archivists.

Lamb specialized in the early history of British Columbia.