Chester William New | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Chester William New

Chester William New, university teacher, historian, biographer (b at Montréal 9 Oct 1882; d at Hamilton, Ont 31 Aug 1960). Raised and educated in Hamilton, New was a graduate of the University of Toronto and McMaster University.

New, Chester William

Chester William New, university teacher, historian, biographer (b at Montréal 9 Oct 1882; d at Hamilton, Ont 31 Aug 1960). Raised and educated in Hamilton, New was a graduate of the University of Toronto and McMaster University. Ordained a Baptist minister, he served a brief pastorate before embarking on graduate work in history, some at Oxford and in Germany but the bulk of it at the University of Chicago. His first teaching post was at Manitoba's Brandon College, then an affiliate of McMaster. In 1920 he joined the latter as professor of history and department head, a position he occupied until he retired in 1951. His colourful teaching style, renowned absentmindedness, and keen backing of intercollegiate athletics endeared him to generations of students. Apart from his widely used high-school history textbooks his best-known works were Lord Durham and Henry Brougham (published posthumously). He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.