In Memoriam

Philip Soergel (1959 - 2026)

The Department of History is devastated by the sudden loss of our colleague, Philip Soergel, who passed away on January 7, 2026. Phil joined our department in 2005 as an associate professor, became full professor in 2012, and served as chair of the department for a decade until 2022. Phil received his Ph.D. in medieval and early modern European history from the University of Michigan in 1988. Before joining us at the University of Maryland, he was a member of the Department of History at Arizona State University in Tempe from 1989 to 2005. More information

George H. Callcott (1929 - 2025)

The Department of History is saddened by the news that our long-time colleague, George Hardy Callcott, age 96, passed away on May 5, 2025. George was a faculty member in the Department of History at the University of Maryland from 1956 until his 1994 retirement. He was born in Columbia, SC and received the BA from the University of South Carolina; the MA from Columbia University; and the PhD from the University of North Carolina, where he studied with the distinguished historian of the United States, C. Vann Woodward. More information.

Keith W. Olson (1931 - 2024)

The Department of History has received sad news of the death of Keith Waldemar Olson, Professor Emeritus. He was 92 and died peacefully at his home in Shelburne, VT on June 8, 2024. He was a faculty member at the University of Maryland from 1966 to 2008. More information.

Marvin A. Breslow

The Department of History is saddened to learn of the death of Professor Emeritus Marvin A. Breslow, who passed away in 2024. He was a faculty member in the Department from 1962-2000. In retirement, Marvin served as parliamentarian of the University Senate for a number of years. He was also a former Chair of the University Senate. He will be buried in Lincoln, NE where he was born. More information.

John R. Lampe (1935 - 2024)

The Department of History has received sad news about the death of John Robert Lampe on September 6, 2024. He passed away at age 88 after a brief illness. More information. 

Herman Belz (1937 - 2024)

The UMD Department of History is saddened by the passing of Herman Belz, Emeritus Professor of History, on March 12, 2024 at the age of 86 with his loving wife, Valerie O'Brian, at his side. More information. 

Ira Berlin (1941 - 2018)

Ira Berlin, the influential historian and distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland, was known for his scholarship on the history of slavery in early America and the United States. He passed away at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. on June 5, 2018 at age 77. More information.

The College of Arts and Humanities published a photobook tribute in honor of Ira in 2018. 

Robert Griffith (1940 - 2011)

The Department of History is saddened by the loss of Robert "Bob" Griffith, former Professor of History and Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities before leaving to be provost at American University in 1995. More information.