Oscar Handlin (1915 - 2011)

Born 29 Sep 1915 in Brooklyn, New York

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Flug) Handlin — married 18 Sep 1937 (to 24 May 1976) in Manhattan County, New York

Died 20 Sep 2011 at age 95 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Liz Milner [send private message]

Biography

Oscar Handlin was born Sep. 29, 1915^[1] in New York.^[2]

He married Mary Flug, daughter of Harry and Anna "Fannie" (Szuch) Flug on Sep. 18, 1937 in Manhattan County, New York.^[3]

In 1940, Oscar and Mary, were living at Cambridge. Oscar is described as an instructor at Harvard College and Mary is a government employee in the labor department.^[2]

Oscar won the Pultizer Prize in 1951.

Mary died in 1976.

He married Lilian Bombach.

Oscar died on 20 Sep. 2011 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[1]

In Memoriam: Oscar Handlin (1915–2011)

Stephan Thernstrom, in January 2012 wrote: "In Memoriam: Oscar Handlin (1915–2011)"

These are a few items from his article.

Handlin was not merely the nation's preeminent historian of American immigration; his enormous body of work examined the American experience in its totality. His writings were based on deep research, but presented in lucid and lively prose that reached many readers beyond the academy.

His PhD dissertation was published in 1941 as Boston's Immigrants, 1790–1865, and it won the AHA's John H. Dunning Prize.

Handlin dealt with immigration history from a different vantage point in his Pulitzer Prize-winning volume, The Uprooted (1951), his most popular and accessible work.

Handlin was fortunate to find two successive life partners who collaborated with him in his research and writing. His first wife, Mary Flug, worked closely with him until her death in 1976. He subsequently married Lilian Bombach, a historian at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem who coauthored of several of his later works.^[4]

Obituary

The Boston Globe

September 21, 2011

HANDLIN, Professor Oscar Age 95 of Cambridge, MA on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. Beloved husband of Lilian (Bombach) and the late Mary (Flug). Devoted father of Joanna, Ruth and David Handlin. Cherished grandfather of four and great-grandfather of one. Dear brother of Nathan Handlin and the late Sarah Milner. Graveside services are at the convenience of the family. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. Levine Chapels, Brookline 617-277-8300.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Social Security Death Oscar Handlin. Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2011.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Year: 1940; Census Place: Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T627_1684; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 16-60. 1940 US Census. Oscar Handlin.
3. ↑ Italian Genealogical Group bride: Mary Flug. groom: Handlin Osecar (sic) Sep 18. 1937. Ct.No. 22138. Manhattan.
4. ↑ Stephan Thernstrom, January 2012. Oscar Handlin (1915–2011). In Perspectives on History. American Historical Association. In Memoriam Oscar Handlin.
5. ↑ Oscar Handlin The Boston Globe. Sep/22/2011.