About the Historian
dr. thomas o'connor
University Historian Thomas H. O'Connor is a native of South Boston and graduate of Boston Latin School. He received his A.B. and M.A. degrees from Boston College and his Ph.D. from Boston University. He began teaching in 1950 at Boston College, where he has taught introductory courses in United States history and specialized courses in the Age of Jackson and the Civil War. From 1962 to 1970, he served as chairman of the History Department and attained the rank of professor of History.
In addition to several history textbooks and general works on 19th century American History, Dr. O'Connor has produced a number of studies dealing with Boston history. Among his latest publications are Civil War Boston (1997); Boston Catholics (1998); The Hub: Boston Past and Present (2001); and The Athens of America: Boston, 1825–1845 (2006).
Dr. O'Connor has served as a member of the board of trustees of the Bostonian Society, a resident fellow at the Massachusetts Historical Society and a member of the Massachusetts Archives Commission. In 1998 he was named by President Reagan to serve on the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution and in 1999 he received the Gold Medal of the Eire Society of Boston. In 1993, he was named Professor of History Emeritus and that same year was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Boston College. In 1999, he was appointed university historian at Boston College.
"The Office of the University Historian serves as part of the collective memory of Boston College," says Dr. O'Connor. "It helps preserve the distinctive heritage of the institution for the knowledge and edification of future generations."
Dr. Thomas H. O'Connor
University Historian
Telephone: (617) 552-4788
Email address: oconnort@bc.edu