Fite, Gilbert Courtland, 1918-2010

Gilbert C. Fite was born in 1918 on a farm in South Dakota. He, along with twelve other students, graduated from the Free Methodist Secondary School in Wessington Springs in 1935. He attended the Free Methodist junior college where both his parents attended and where his mother was a secretary. At the junior college, Fite majored in history for two years before enrolling at Seattle Pacific College, a larger Free Methodist school, in 1937. He then enrolled at the University of South Dakota where he received his Master of Arts degree in 1941. He went on to receive his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri with an emphasis in American history. More specifically, Fite focused on United States agriculture, especially the impact of technology, economics, and politics on Midwestern and Southern farming from the late 19th century to the present. Dr. Fite has been honored with two prestigious Fulbright Awards, as well as the Ford Fellowship and the Guggenheim Fellowship. He is past president of the Agricultural History Society, The Southern Historical Association, and the Western History Association. Also, he is past president of Eastern Illinois University and held the Richard B. Russell Professorship of American History at the University of Georgia. Dr. Fite was very active in the Phi Alpha Theta Fraternity and served as its president from 1981 to 1983. Fite authored nine books and over sixty articles, co-authored seven books, and edited of three volumes. Gilbert Fite married his wife, June, in 1941, after graduating from The University of Missouri. They have two sons and grandchildren. The Fites currently reside in Fort Myers, Florida.

From the description of Gilbert C. Fite collection of Richard B. Russell, Jr. research files, 1971-1984. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 401339188