Rate My Professor Albert Van Dusen

Albert Van Dusen served as Professor of History at the University of Connecticut from 1949 to 1983, where he taught courses in Connecticut history, American colonial history, and Revolutionary history. He supervised the first doctorate awarded in history by UConn and was voted one of the university's five best teachers in 1964. Van Dusen earned his BA in history from Wesleyan University in 1938, followed by an MA and PhD in history from the University of Pennsylvania. His academic career focused on Connecticut history, reflected in his extensive research and publications on the state's past from the colonial period onward.

As Connecticut's unpaid honorary State Historian from 1952 to 1985, appointed by Governor John Davis Lodge, Van Dusen played a pivotal role in preserving and promoting the state's heritage. He served 34 years on the Connecticut Historical Commission, as well as on the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and the Commission on Preservation and Restoration of the Connecticut State Capitol. Van Dusen founded the Mansfield Historical Society and the Association for the Study of Connecticut History, sat on the Council of the American Association for State and Local History, and held trustee and officer positions with the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society. His major publications include Connecticut, a fully illustrated history published by Random House in 1961 that went through five printings and sold over 33,000 copies, and Puritans Against the Wilderness: Connecticut History to 1763, published by Pequot Press in 1975. He also produced numerous articles and books on Connecticut history, and compiled the Connecticut Civil War Soldiers Index and Connecticut Revolutionary Soldiers Index, accessible via UConn Library digital collections. Van Dusen's personal and research papers are preserved in the University of Connecticut Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, underscoring his lasting impact on the field of Connecticut history.