Irving Cutler

Irving Cutler (b. 1923 in Chicago – d. July 24, 2023) was an American geographer and regional historian, known for his research on the Jewish community in Chicago.

Early life He was the son of Zelig Cutler and Frieda (née Wapner). He was born on Washburn Street in Chicago and attended elementary school in North Lawndale. His father ran a foreign press kiosk. During World War II, Irving Cutler served in the Navy. The destroyer on which he served crossed the Atlantic ten times, escorting over sixty freighters carrying American soldiers sent to the front in Europe. After the war, he earned a master's degree in social sciences from the University of Chicago and then a doctorate in urban geography from Northwestern University.

Career He taught at Chicago State University for 24 years, including ten years as chair of the Geography Department. He also taught at DePaul University. He served as president of the Chicago Geographical Society. He co-founded and served for many years on the board of the Jewish Historical Society of Chicago.

Recognition

Distinguished Geographer Award by Illinois Geographic Society (2021) L’dor V’dor award by The Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago (2023)

Books

Cutler, Irving (1965) The Chicago-Milwaukee corridor: a geographic study of intermetropolitan coalescence, Evanston: Dept. of Geography, Northwestern University Press Cutler, Irving, Norman D. Schwartz & Sidney Sorkin (eds) (1991) Synagogues of Chicago, 2 vols., Chicago: Chicago Jewish Historical Society Cutler, Irving (1996) Urban communities, Indianapolis: Merrill Pub Co Cutler, Irving (2000) Jewish Chicago: a pictorial history, Charleston: Arcadia Publishing Cutler, Irving (2006) Chicago, metropolis of the mid-continent, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press Cutler, Irving (2008) The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb, Chicago: University of Illinois Cutler, Irving (2009) Chicago's Jewish West Side, Charleston: Arcadia Publishing

Journal articles Cutler, Irving (2016) The Jews of Chicago, Illinois Geographer, 58(1): 5-24.