Geoffrey Blodgett was Robert S. Danforth Professor of History at Oberlin College

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

, located in Oberlin

Oberlin

Oberlin may refer to:Places in the United States* Oberlin, Kansas* Oberlin, Louisiana* Oberlin, Ohio** Oberlin College** Oberlin ConservatoryPeople*Oberlin...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. As a student at Oberlin from 1949-1953, he was a wide receiver on the Yeomen, the college's men's football team. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin in 1953, Blodgett served two years with the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 in the Pacific Fleet. He received a PhD at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1961, and returned to the college a year later to join the History Department. His dissertation focused on a group of political reformers of the late 19th century who left the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to join the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, the Mugwumps.

Throughout his career as a professor he focused on the history of architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, publishing several books and many articles. He also published many articles on the history of Oberlin College.

Selected publications

• Geoffrey Blodgett (1966). The Gentle Reformers: Massachusetts Democrats in the Cleveland Era. Harvard University
  Harvard University
  Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
  
   Press.
• Geoffrey Blodgett (1985). Oberlin Architecture, College and Town: A Guide to Its Social History. Kent State University
  Kent State University
  Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
  
   Press. ISBN 0-87338-309-5
• Elizabeth A. Brown and Geoffrey Blodgett (1992) Robert Mangold: The Oberlin Window. Oberlin College. ISBN 99925-53-02-2
• Geoffrey Blodgett (1999). Cass Gilbert: The Early Years. Minnesota
  Minnesota
  Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
  
  Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87351-410-6