Harold Syrett

Harold Coffin Syrett (October 22, 1913-July 29, 1984) was an American executive editor of The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, and the fourth President of Brooklyn College.[1][2]

Harold Syrett
Born(1913-10-22)October 22, 1913
Brooklyn, New York, US
DiedJuly 29, 1984(1984-07-29) (aged 70)
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York, US
Known for
  • Executive Editor of The Papers of Alexander Hamilton
  • 4th President of Brooklyn College
PredecessorFrancis Kilcoyne
SuccessorJohn Kneller, 5th President of Brooklyn College

Biography

Syrett was born on President Street in Brooklyn, New York, to Frank H. and Dorothy (Provost) Syrett.[3][4] He majored in economics at Wesleyan University (Bachelor of Arts, 1935), where he was catcher on the baseball team, and studied at Columbia University (Master of Arts, 1938; Doctor of Philosophy, 1944).[3]

For over 20 years beginning in 1955 Syrett was the Executive Editor of The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, 19,000 documents, published by the Columbia University Press in 26 volumes from 1961 to 1979.[3][1][2]

He was a professor of American History in Columbia University's history department from 1941 to 1961.[3][2] Syrett was Dean of the faculty at Queens College from 1962 to 1965 (as well as acting president in 1964).[3] He was Vice Chancellor of the State University of New York from 1966 to 1967.[3]

Syrett was President of Brooklyn College for two years, from 1967-69.[3] He resigned due to ill health.[3]

He taught history at the City University of New York from 1969-1979, when he retired.[3]

Syrett was the author of The City of Brooklyn, 1865-1898: a political history (1944), Interview in Weehawken: the Burr-Hamilton duel, as told in the original documents (1960), American Historical Documents (1962), Modern Hungarian Poetry (1977), and Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition.[3][5][6][7][8] He co-authored A History of the American People (1952).[9] He also edited The Gentleman and the Tiger (1956), the memoirs of George B. McClellan Jr., the Union Army American Civil War general.[3]

He lived in Craryville, New York.[3] Syrett died of hepatitis, the result of a blood transfusion during a hip operation, at the age of 70 years old on July 29, 1984, at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York.[3][1]

References
  1. Sullivan, Edward T. (March 18, 1984). "Harold Coffin Syrett". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 96: 38–41. JSTOR 25078074.
  2. Syrett, Harold C.; Cooke, Jean G. (1960). Interview in Weehawken: The Burr-Hamilton Duel as Told in the Original Documents. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 9780819578280 – via Google Books.
  3. Purdum, Todd S. (July 30, 1984). "Dr. Harold Syrett, Historian and Hamilton Papers Editor" – via NYTimes.com.
  4. "Oscar-Nominated Director: "Brooklyn is Where I Found My Path"". The L Magazine. February 22, 2013.
  5. Syrett, Harold Coffin (1944). The City of Brooklyn, 1865-1898: a political history. Columbia University Press – via Internet Archive. HAROLD SYRETT president brooklyn.
  6. Harold Coffin Syrett. Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition - Google Books
  7. Harold Coffin Syrett. Interview in Weehawken: the Burr-Hamilton duel, as told in the original documents - Google Books
  8. Harold C. Syrett. Modern Hungarian Poetry - Google Books
  9. Harry James Carman, Harold Coffin Syrett. A history of the American people - Google Books
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