Kirby, Chester H.

Chester Hugo Kirby (1899-1975), professor of history, was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on September 12, 1899. He received his A.B. degree in 1921 and his A.M. in 1923, both from the State University of Iowa, and went on the receive a second A.M. degree in 1924 and a Ph.D. in 1929 from Harvard. He came to Brown as instructor in history in 1927, and was promoted to assistant professor in 1932, associate professor in 1945, and professor in 1950. His specialty was nineteenth-century social history. His book, The English Country Gentleman, a Study of Nineteenth Century Types was published in 1937. He retired in 1964 and died on March 5, 1975 at his home in Thetford, Vermont.