Richard P. McCormick
Encyclopedia
Richard Patrick McCormick (24 December 1916 – 16 January 2006) was a historian
, former University Professor of History, administrator, professor emeritus at Rutgers University
in New Brunswick, New Jersey
and President of the New Jersey Historical Society
. Dr. McCormick was internationally recognized for his expertise in New Jersey
and early American political history
.
in 1933.
McCormick received a Bachelor of Arts
(A.B.) in History
from Rutgers College of Rutgers University
in 1938 and proceeded to earn a Master of Arts
(A.M.) from Rutgers' Graduate School in 1940. During his undergraduate years, McCormick was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy
(Ph.D.) in 1948 from the University of Pennsylvania
submitting a dissertation entitled Experiment in Independence: New Jersey in the Critical Period, 1781-1789 which would be edited for his first monograph.
In 1945, he began teaching at Rutgers University in the department of history. From 1961-1962, Dr. McCormick was appointed a fellow of Jesus College
, University of Cambridge
in the United Kingdom
. In August 1945, Richard P. McCormick married Katheryne Levis in Baltimore, Maryland whom he met at the University of Delaware
in Newark, Delaware
while teaching Army Specialized Training Reserve Program in 1944.
McCormick was chair of the Rutgers College history department from 1966 to 1969 and dean of Rutgers College from 1974 to 1977. In 1971 he chaired a committee on coeducation at Rutgers College (which had previously admitted men only) and in 1969 he chaired a special faculty committee to address issues raised by African-American students at Rutgers.
McCormick retired from teaching in 1982.
McCormick was instrumental in the establishment of several influential historical organizations, including the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board and the New Jersey Tercentenary Commission, and served as research adviser to Colonial Williamsburg
, and as a member of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.
His books The Second American Party System: Party Formations in the Jacksonian Era (1966) and Rutgers: A Bicentennial History (1966) received the biennial book prize from American Association for State and Local History
in 1965 and 1968 respectively. In 2002, McCormick was recognized with the Award for Scholarly Distinction from the American Historical Association
.
Richard P. McCormick died on 16 January 2006 at the age of 89 after an extended illness. He was the father of two children, Dorothy (b. 1950), and Richard Levis McCormick
(b. 1947), who is the nineteenth and current President of Rutgers University
. After Richard L. McCormick became a history professor at Rutgers in the mid-70's, the two McCormicks taught at least one history course together, American Political History.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, former University Professor of History, administrator, professor emeritus at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
and President of the New Jersey Historical Society
New Jersey Historical Society
The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition space, a gift shop, and a hall for lectures. The NJHS offers occasional...
. Dr. McCormick was internationally recognized for his expertise in New Jersey
History of New Jersey
The history of New Jersey began at the end of the Younger Dryas climate, about 10 millennia ago. Native Americans moved into New Jersey soon after the reversal of the Younger Dryas, which had made the area uninhabitable and, during the preceding ice age, unreachable.European contact began with the...
and early American political history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
.
Biography
Born in Queens, New York, on 24 December 1916, McCormick graduated from Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New JerseyTenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 14,488. Tenafly is an affluent suburb of New York City....
in 1933.
McCormick received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(A.B.) in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
from Rutgers College of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1938 and proceeded to earn a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(A.M.) from Rutgers' Graduate School in 1940. During his undergraduate years, McCormick was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(Ph.D.) in 1948 from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
submitting a dissertation entitled Experiment in Independence: New Jersey in the Critical Period, 1781-1789 which would be edited for his first monograph.
In 1945, he began teaching at Rutgers University in the department of history. From 1961-1962, Dr. McCormick was appointed a fellow of Jesus College
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In August 1945, Richard P. McCormick married Katheryne Levis in Baltimore, Maryland whom he met at the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
in Newark, Delaware
Newark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
while teaching Army Specialized Training Reserve Program in 1944.
McCormick was chair of the Rutgers College history department from 1966 to 1969 and dean of Rutgers College from 1974 to 1977. In 1971 he chaired a committee on coeducation at Rutgers College (which had previously admitted men only) and in 1969 he chaired a special faculty committee to address issues raised by African-American students at Rutgers.
McCormick retired from teaching in 1982.
McCormick was instrumental in the establishment of several influential historical organizations, including the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board and the New Jersey Tercentenary Commission, and served as research adviser to Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is the private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The district includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 which made colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of the original shires of Virginia —...
, and as a member of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.
His books The Second American Party System: Party Formations in the Jacksonian Era (1966) and Rutgers: A Bicentennial History (1966) received the biennial book prize from American Association for State and Local History
American Association for State and Local History
The American Association for State and Local History is a non-profit association for state and local history, with a primary focus on museums and historical societies. It is headquartered in Nashville, TN, and has over 6,300 members...
in 1965 and 1968 respectively. In 2002, McCormick was recognized with the Award for Scholarly Distinction from the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
.
Richard P. McCormick died on 16 January 2006 at the age of 89 after an extended illness. He was the father of two children, Dorothy (b. 1950), and Richard Levis McCormick
Richard L. McCormick
Richard Levis McCormick is a historian, professor and university administrator currently serving as the nineteenth president of Rutgers University.-Early Life:...
(b. 1947), who is the nineteenth and current President of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. After Richard L. McCormick became a history professor at Rutgers in the mid-70's, the two McCormicks taught at least one history course together, American Political History.
Works
- Experiment in Independence: New Jersey in the Critical Period, 1781-1789 (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1950).
- The History of Voting in New Jersey: A Study of the Development of Election Machinery, 1664-1911 (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1953). NO ISBN
- New Jersey from Colony to State, 1609-1789 (1st ed.—Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand, 1964; 2nd ed.—New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970). ISBN 0-8135-0662-X
- The Second American Party System: Party Formations in the Jacksonian Era (Chapel Hill, North Carolina:University of North Carolina Press, 1966). ISBN 0-8078-0977-2
- Rutgers: A Bicentennial History (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966). ISBN 0-8135-0521-6
- The Selected Speeches of Mason Welch Gross with Richard Schlatter. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1980). ISBN 0-87855-388-6
- The Presidential Game: The Origins of American Presidential Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982). ISBN 0-19-503455-4
- The Case of the Nazi Professor with David M. Oshinsky and Daniel Horn (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1989). ISBN 0-8135-1427-4
- The Black Student Protest Movement at Rutgers (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1990). ISBN 0-8135-1575-0
- Equality Deferred: Women Candidates for the New Jersey Assembly, 1920-1993 with Katheryne C. McCormick, (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Center for the American Woman and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, 1994). NO ISBN