Persona

Simpson, George Wilfred

1893-1969

Born in Chatsworth, Ontario on 24 March 1893, George Wilfred Simpson received his early education in Owen Sound before taking up a homestead in southern Saskatchewan. In 1915 he entered the University of Saskatchewan and received a BA (1919) in English and History; in 1920 he received an MA from the University of Toronto. The first Saskatchewan recipient of the IODE overseas scholarship, Simpson was able to attend the University of London for postgraduate studies. He also did postgraduate work at the University of Berlin (1931-1932), and in 1947 received an honourary doctorate from the Free Ukrainian University in Munich, Germany. In 1959, Simpson was given an LL.D from the University of Saskatchewan. His teaching career at the University of Saskatchewan started in 1922, with an appointment as Instructor in History. By 1928 he had been promoted to full professor; in 1940, Simpson was appointed Head of the History Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1958. Upon retirement, Simpson was named Professor Emeritus. During his career at the University of Saskatchewan, Simpson initiated the department of Slavic studies, was the first Canadian historian to learn Ukrainian, and edited the first history of the Ukraine published in English: "Ukraine, An Atlas Of Its Geography and History." He helped shape the policy of the Saskatchewan Archives Act, was the first Provincial Archivist (1945-1948), and afterward served on the Archives Board. As chair of the Committee on Historic Sites and Publications, he made a major contribution to the success of Saskatchewan's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1955. Simpson died in Saskatoon on 6 March 1969, at the age of 75.