In Memoriam: James Hanlan

Cherished colleague James P. (“Jim”) Hanlan passed away on August 17, 2024, at the age of 79. Jim was a founder of the New England Historical Society, whose annual book award is given in tribute to him, as befits one who was its executive secretary for 20 years. Jim was equally active in NEPCA in quiet ways that often escaped notice. He was frequently the nuts-and-bolts person behind the scene who secured meeting sites, worked conference registration tables, guided print orders to completion, put up signs, chaired uncountable numbers of panels, reviewed submissions for NEPCA’s History and Popular Uses of the Past area, and took care of myriad other details necessary to make NEPCA conferences successful.

Jim was proud of his birthplace of Worcester, Massachusetts. His undergraduate B.A. came from Holy Cross and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Clark University. For 47 years he taught history (and other liberal studies subjects) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He was a dedicated colleague and popular professor who often spearheaded trips abroad and in the United States with his students. His keen organizational skills sometimes shocked friends, students, and colleagues who entered his office. If gold medals were given for professors with messy desks, Jim would surely have been a contender!   

Jim was also an active scholar with whom I had the pleasure of co-editing Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor (Greenwood, 2014). That project augmented a personal friendship with Jim that dates back to the 1980s. Many of us recall Jim’s deep sorrow when his wife Gaye died in 2014. He leaves behind two sons, George and James O. Hanlan, his daughter Janet Hanlan, and four grandchildren. He also leaves behind fond memories of those lucky enough to have known him.

Robert E. Weir, Ph.D.

University of Massachusetts Amherst