Daniel Leab

Daniel J. Leab
Born Daniel Joseph Liebeskind
(1936-08-29)August 29, 1936
Berlin, Germany
Died November 15, 2016(2016-11-15) (aged 80)
near Washington, Connecticut
Nationality American
Other names Dan Leab
Alma mater Columbia University
Occupation Professor of history, publisher, author
Spouse(s) Katharine Kyes
Children Abigail Leab Martin, Constance Rigney, Marcus Leab
Parent(s) Herta Marcus, Leo Liebeskind

Daniel Joseph Leab (August 29, 1936 – November 15, 2016) was an American historian of 20th century history, particularly the history of American labor unions. He was also long-time editor or publisher of three journals and magazines.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early years

Leab was born Daniel Joseph Liebeskind in Berlin, Germany, on August 29, 1936. His mother was Herta Marcus (1901–1981) from the East Prussian town of Gilgenburg (now Dabrowno, Poland). His father was Leo Liebeskind (1897–1979) of Berlin. Although they had planned to leave Germany for Palestine, instead they emigrated to America in 1938, where they changed the surname from Liebeskind to Leab.[1][6]

In 1957, he obtained a BA from Columbia University. From 1957 to 1958, he attended Harvard Law School. Returning to Columbia, he obtained an MA in 1961 and PhD in 1969. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the formative years of the American Newspaper Guild (1933-1936).[1][2]

Career

Academics

In 1966, Leab began teaching at universities. He first taught in the history department of his alma mater, Columbia University. Eventually, he served there as Associate Dean of Columbia College, a member of the university's central administration, and member on executive committee of the university's senate.[1][2]

In 1974, he began teaching at Seton Hall University. He began as an assistant professor. By 1980, he had become a full professor. He taught 20th Century History for more than three decades there.[1][7]

Provost John Duff appointed him to oversee the university's American Studies Program. He served as acting chairman of the Department of History and two years as chair of University Rank and Tenure Committee. He created and directed its Multi-Cultural Program.[2][7]

He wrote or edited seven books, published more than 20 articles, and spoke publicly.[2][8]

Research topics included labour history, history in film, and cultural conflicts of the Cold War.[2][7][9]

He was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at the University of Cologne two times (1977 Spring, 1986–1987), both times as senior Fullbright lecturer. He was also Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1986 Spring) and at the Heim-Hoch-Volksschule, in Falkenstein, Bavaria, Germany (June 1970, July 1972, July 1975).[9]

Editing and publishing

In the 1960s, Leab served as an editorial assistant of and contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review.[10]

In 1974, Leab became managing editor of peer-reviewed Labor History journal and served for more than two decades.[1][9]

He was also publisher of American Books Prices Current, edited by his wife.[11]

In 1982, he became managing editor of American Communist History, peer-reviewed journal of the academic group Historians of American Communism (HOAC).[1] He also served as HOAC secretary and treasurer.[4]

Administration

Leab helped administer both Seton Hall and Columbia universities:

Personal and death

Leab married Katharine Kyes Leab, co-Publisher of American Book Prices Current (published by Bancroft-Parkman, Inc.), in 1964. They had three children: Abigail Leab-Martin, Constance Rigney, and Marcus Leab.[11]

Leab quoted aphorisms to describe views on history with which he disagreed:

Leab held that such aphorisms merely pointed out "failings of History as a discipline and as a guide." Instead, he expressed his views on history with a quote from poet Maya Angelou:

History, despite its wrenching pain
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.[2]

He served as Justice of the Peace for Washington, Connecticut, from 1999 until his death. He served on the Connecticut Region 12 Board of Education for Bridgewater-Roxbury-Washington (1997–2001, 2003–2004). He served as a board member for Blue Card (Holocaust Survivors Aid Organization) (1993–2000). He served on the board of trustees and secretary for the Clockwork Community Theatre of Oakville, Connecticut (2000–2001).

He died on November 15, 2016, at his home in Washington, Connecticut, surrounded by his family.[4][5]

Works

Books

Leab wrote the following:

Books co-written

Leab co-wrote the following:

Books edited

Leab edited or co-edited the following:

Journals edited

Leab edited the following:

Encyclopedic articles

Leab contributed the following:

Articles in books and journals

Leab wrote the following for books or journals:

Leab co-wrote the following articles with his wife:

Review articles

Leab wrote numerous reviews, which appear in the following journals:

Awards and recognition

Leab received the following awards and recognition.

Legacy

American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards

In 1990, Leab and his wife established and endowed the annual "Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards" for excellence in publishing of catalogs and brochures that accompany exhibitions of library and archival materials, plus accompanying digital exhibitions. The Exhibition Awards Committee of the ALA/ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) administers the awards.[29][30][31][32]

Book exhibitions

Leab championed books in culture; an example was an exhibition of books by George Orwell held at Brown University in 1997, which featured books from Leab's personal collection. He gave the collection to Brown.[33]

Papers and collections

In addition to donating his extensive working library of printed books, magazines, catalogs and other ephemera on American and European Film and Cinema to the Film Department of the Museum of Modern Art, NY, in 2011, Leab left several collections of papers and books:

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Daniel J. Leab Collection: Papers, 1900–1975" (PDF). Wayne State University - Walter P. Reuther Library (Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs). May 1980. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Daniel J. Leab, PhD". Seton Hall University. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  3. "Professor Dr. Daniel J. Leab". University of Cologne. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Passing of Dan Leab". Historians of American Communism. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Daniel Leab". New York Times (Legacy). Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  6. "Guide to the Papers of Herta (1901-1981) and Leo (1897-1979) Leab 1858-1981". Leo Baeck Institute Center for Jewish Heritage. 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Introducing The Daniel J. Leab Collection". Seton Hall University. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  8. "Daniel J. Leab". C-SPAN. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 "Prof. Daniel J. Leab". Beyond Enemy Lines. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Cold War Comics". Columbia Journalism Review. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  11. 1 2 "The Excellent Staff". American Book Prices Current. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  12. Leab, Daniel J. (1970). "A Union of Individuals: The Formation of the American Newspaper Guild, 1933-1936". Columbia University Press. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  13. Leab, Daniel J. "A Union of Individuals: The Formation of the American Newspaper Guild, 1933-1936". Library of Congress. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  14. Leab, Daniel J. (1975). "From Sambo to Superspade: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures". Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  15. Leab, Daniel J. (1975). "From Sambo to Superspade: The Black Experience in Motion Pictures". London: Secker & Warburg. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  16. Leab, Daniel J. (1996). "George Orwell : An Exhibition at the Grolier Club: Selections from the Collection of Daniel J. Leab". Washington, Connecticut: Cogswell Tavern Press. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  17. Leab, Daniel J. (2000). "I Was a Communist for the FBI: The Unhappy Life and Times of Matt Cvetic". Penn State University Press. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  18. Leab, Daniel J. (2000). "I Was a Communist for the FBI: The Unhappy Life and Times of Matt Cvetic". Penn State University Press. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  19. Leab, Daniel J. (2007). "Orwell Subverted: The CIA and the Filming of Animal Farm". Penn State University Press. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  20. Leab, Daniel J. (2007). "Orwell Subverted: The CIA and the Filming of Animal Farm". Library of Congress. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  21. Leab, Daniel J.; Leab, Katharine Kyes (1981). "The Auction Companion". Harper & Row. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  22. Neufeld, Maurice F.; Leab, Daniel J.; Swanson, Dorothy, eds. (1983). "American Working Class History: A Representative Bibliography". New York: Bowker. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  23. Leab, Daniel J., ed. (1985). The Labor History Reader. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  24. Leab, Daniel J., ed. (1991). Federal Bureau of Investigation Confidential Files: Communist Activity in the Entertainment Industry [microform] : FBI Surveillance Files on Hollywood, 1942-1958. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  25. Leab, Daniel J.; Mason, Philip P., eds. (1992). "Labor history archives in the United States : a guide for researching and teaching". Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  26. Leab, Daniel J., ed. (2010). "The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Thematic Encyclopedia". Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  27. Leab, Daniel J., ed. (2014). "Encyclopedia of American Recessions and Depressions". Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  28. Leab, Daniel J. (2001). "Hollywood und die deutsche Filmkultur". In Junker, Detlef. Die USA und Deutschland im Zeitalter des Kalten Krieges 1945-1990. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.
  29. "The Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards: Guidelines and Rules for Submissions". Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  30. "The Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards". Rare Books & Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  31. "Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards". American Library Association. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  32. "Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Catalogue Awards". Association of College & Research Libraries. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  33. "George Orwell: An Exhibition from the Collection of Daniel J. Leab". Brown University. 1997. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  34. "Papers of Daniel J. Leab". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  35. "Daniel J. Leab Collection 1920-1977". Center for Jewish History. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  36. "Guide to the Daniel J. Leab papers 1950-2006" (PDF). Brown University. 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  37. "Daniel J. Leab collection". Seton Hall University. Retrieved 19 November 2016.

External links

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