Robert Aldrich

Robert F. Aldrich (born July 29, 1954, in New York) is an Australian historian and writer. Aldrich is Professor Emeritus of European History at the University of Sydney, where he taught from 1981-2021. He researches modern European and colonial history, particularly the French and British empires, as well as the history of modern monarchy.

Life After school Aldrich studied history in the United States of America, first at Emory University, Georgia, where he received his undergraduate degree, and afterwards at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, where he gained his Master's and PhD.

Aldrich joined the faculty at University of Sydney. He wrote several books on French colonialism in the Pacific and on the history of homosexuality.

Awards and recognition

In 2002 the French government awarded Aldrich the Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques. In 2008 he was elected a Fellow of both the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Works An Economic and Social History of Europe, two volumes (1987) (with Frank Tipton) The French Presence in the South Pacific, 1842–1940 (1990) France's Overseas Frontier: Départements et Territoires d'Outre-Mer (together with John Connell) (1992) France and the South Pacific since 1940 (1993) The Seduction of the Mediterranean: Writing, Art and Homosexual Fantasy (1993) Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion (1996) The Last Colonies (1998) Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History (2000) (edited with Garry Wotherspoon) Colonialism and Homosexuality (2003) Vestiges of the Colonial Empire in France: Monuments, Museums and Colonial Memories (2005) Gay Life and Culture: A World History, published by Thames & Hudson (2006) (German translation: Gleich und Anders – Eine Globale Geschichte der Homosexualität, Murmann Verlag) (2007) The Age of Empires, published by Thames & Hudson (2007) Gay Lives, published by Thames & Hudson (2012) (UK title, Gay Life Stories)