1914: A.S. Morton appointed as history professor and librarian
In 1914 Arthur Silver Morton
was appointed to the University as a history professor and University
Librarian. He left an important legacy
as a “popularizer and conservator of the history of Saskatchewan.”1
Early in his career at the
University, he founded a historical association (later renamed the Morton
Historical Association). As related in
an obituary, “He realized the urgency of collecting and preserving material
relating to the history of the Prairies before it might be lost and he made an
appeal for letters, diaries and documents.
Through the historical association, which he formed in 1917, students of
the university were enlisted in the project.
A museum committee was also established. The professor conducted a tireless search for the sites of early
trading posts and made arrangements for their preservation.”
He established the Historical
Public Records Office at the University of Saskatchewan in 1937, at which time
he was named Provincial Archivist. This
office became the Saskatoon Office of the Saskatchewan Archives Board when
legislation officially establishing the provincial archives was passed in 1945.
Among other projects, he
continued as Provincial Archivist until his death in 1945. He died in President J.S. Thomson’s office
“while discussing plans for his future work.”
| Related Collections |  |
A.S. Morton fonds, MG 2
| Images | |
1914a: Historical Association executive, 1918-19. Morton is in the back row. Photograph Collection, B-238.
1914b: A.S. Morton. Photograph Collection, A-3170.
| Sources | |
Faculty Biographies
Collection, A.S. Morton file.
1. On Campus News, 14 November 1997, p. 13.
|
;)
