Jon Gjerde

Jon Gjerde (February 25, 1953 – October 26, 2008) was an American historian known for his work on the ethnic and agricultural aspects of European immigration to the Midwestern United States. He was the Morrison Professor of American History and American Citizenship at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also served as chair of the history department (2001–2004) and dean of the Division of Social Sciences in the College of Letters and Science (2007–2008).

Early life and education Gjerde was born on February 25, 1953, in Waterloo, Iowa, and grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the youngest of three children in a family of Norwegian immigrants. His father, Waldemar Gjerde, was a professor of education at the University of Northern Iowa, but died when Jon Gjerde was young; his mother was a schoolteacher.

Career After teaching at the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin, and the California Institute of Technology, He served as chair of the history department at UC Berkeley from 2001 to 2004, then was named interim dean of social sciences in 2006 and confirmed as dean in 2007.

Death and legacy Gjerde died on October 26, 2008, at his home in Albany, California. The Midwestern History Association has also named an annual prize for the best book in the field in his honor, the Jon Gjerde Prize.

Selected works . Reviewed in J. Historical Geography , American Historical Review , Economic History Review , J. Interdisciplinary History , International Migration Review , Continuity and Change , and J. American History . . Reviewed in J. American History , American Historical Review , Western Historical Quarterly , International Migration Review , American Anthropologist , and Rural History . . This is an edited anthology of primary sources and excerpts from scholars. .