John Y. Simon
John Y. Simon | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 25, 1933 |
| Died | July 8, 2008 (aged 75) |
| Academic work | |
| Main interests | American Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant and the Grant family, Abraham Lincoln, documentary editing, Illinois History |
| Notable works | The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, 31 volumes of selected correspondence |
John Younker Simon (June 25, 1933 – July 8, 2008)[1] was an American Civil War scholar known for the documentary editing of the papers of Ulysses S. Grant.
Biography
Born in Highland Park, Illinois, to Jane Younker and Jay Simon, he was on the history faculty of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, for 44 years. Simon had MA and PhD history degrees from Harvard University. As a founding member of the Ulysses S. Grant Association, he began compiling Grant's papers while still a Ph.D. student and continued to accumulate and compile papers throughout his tenure at Carbondale.[2] He received the Lincoln Prize Special Achievement Award in 2004 from the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College for his then-24, later 31 volume Grant series.[3] The same year, he also received The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement.[4]
In January 2008, Southern Illinois University Carbondale officials locked him out of his office and barred him from campus over a complaint of verbal sexual harassment, which the university later determined to be baseless.[5] He was not permitted to see the details of the complaint.[6] In May 2008, the Ulysses S. Grant Association voted to disassociate itself from Southern Illinois University over the poor handling of Simon's case.[7] He was preparing to teach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville when he died on July 8, 2008, at the age of 75.[8] Southern Illinois University Carbondale was preparing to officially clear his name and reinstate him at the time of his death.[6][5] His successor at the Ulysses S. Grant Association was John F. Marszalek, who won a lawsuit against the university to retain control of Grant's files and moved them to Mississippi State University.[9]
Quotes
"(He is) one of the finest people I've ever met." -- Geoffrey Perret, author of Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President
See also
References
- ^ Weber, Bruce (July 10, 2008). "John Simon, Tireless Editor of Grant's Papers, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ "An Interview with John Marszalek". Friends of the Lincoln Collection.
- ^ "Previous Winners". Gettysburg College. 2012. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ The Lincoln Forum
- ^ a b Kolowich, Steve (11 February 2010). "Rights of the Accused". Inside Higher Ed.
- ^ a b Bode, Gus (September 1, 2008). "Chancellor: Professor was set to be reinstated before he died". The Daily Egyptian.
- ^ "Dispute Widens Between Southern Illinois U.-Carbondale and Ulysses S. Grant Association". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2 September 2008.
- ^ "072208 obits: John Y. Simon". The Southern Illinoisan. July 21, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ "Ulysses S. Grant marches south again -- chicagotribune.com". www.chicagotribune.com.