成人头条

John 鈥淛ack鈥� Breihan, Ph.D., professor emeritus of history, passed away on Friday, Feb. 18. He was 75.

Breihan, who taught at 成人头条 from 1977-2016, shaped the history department at 成人头条 and engaged his students in his love of history, including Baltimore history and architecture.

鈥淗e was involved in so much during 成人头条鈥檚 transformation into a regional comprehensive university,鈥� said Thomas Pegram, Ph.D., professor of history. 鈥淪ince I arrived at 成人头条 in 1990, Jack was the personification of 成人头条's mission to educate and to serve. His energy and initiative were matched by his generosity and compassion. He was the best person I ever knew.鈥�

Breihan assisted with the launch of 成人头条鈥檚 Honors Program and helped create a writing-across-the-curriculum program that continues to have an impact on the Jesuit, liberal arts education 成人头条 offers.

鈥淗e was a 成人头条n through and through, loved the school, loved the students, and had pretty definite ideas about what ought to happen but was always willing to talk things through,鈥� said Thomas Scheye, Ph.D., professor of English. 鈥淲riting is so much now more a part of our students鈥� curriculum and experience, and that is partly because of the lasting impact of the writing-across-the-curriculum effort.鈥�

Breihan, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Princeton University in 1969 and his doctoral degree in History from the University of Cambridge in 1978. A passionate and educated historian and scholar, Breihan focused his research on military history, history through film, historic preservation, British history, and Baltimore history and architecture.

鈥淗e was trained as a British historian at Cambridge, and he did his initial doctoral work on British military history, but he was also very interested in architecture, and he developed courses on Baltimore architecture,鈥� said Matthew Mulcahy, Ph.D., professor of history. 鈥淗e liked thinking about history and space and landscape and architecture and how those things interconnected. When he taught his Baltimore History and Architecture class, one of the assignments was that students had to write the history of a neighborhood, and they got extra credit if they got it posted to Wikipedia.鈥�

Breihan served as a board member of Baltimore Heritage and the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, where he provided important historical research and gave regular presentations in their monthly speaker series. His published works include Maryland Aloft: A Celebration of Aviators, Airfields and Aerospace, From Mobtown to Charm City: New Perspectives on Baltimore's Past, and Martin Aircraft 1909-1960.

Breihan and his wife, Ann Whitney Breihan, Ph.D., who is a professor emerita of business at Notre Dame of Maryland University, were well-known for the barbecues they hosted at their home.

鈥淛ack and Ann were always welcoming to new faculty and eager to make them feel a part of the 成人头条 community,鈥� said Gayla McGlamery, Ph.D., associate professor of English. 鈥淛ack and I were in different departments, but he and Ann were the first people who invited me to a social event鈥�a big cookout in their backyard on Radnor Avenue near campus. I reminded him of that not long ago. They were the first people to make me feel that I might have a home at 成人头条.鈥�

Brilliant and intellectually curious, Breihan enjoyed conversing widely on many topics.

鈥淗e was just so smart and knew so much about so many different things that he was so interesting to talk to,鈥� Mulcahy said. 鈥淗e was also incredibly kind. He was a super individual who laughed easily and told good stories鈥攁nd he and his wife were tremendous hosts and hostesses to all of us.鈥�

One of Breihan鈥檚 achievements at 成人头条 was helping build a history department with depth and breadth.

鈥淗e was, essentially, the architect of a terrific history department. Most are retired now, but he was the one who put together that community of outstanding teachers, scholars, and people,鈥� said Joseph Walsh, Ph.D., professor of Classics.

Walsh recalled how when he was interviewing for a position at 成人头条, he had been in a train wreck right before he was invited to campus for an interview. He had stitches on his face and borrowed his brother鈥檚 clothes, which didn鈥檛 fit. Breihan was co-hosting the interview and made Walsh feel welcome.

鈥淒uring the visit, which lasted two days, Jack was his usual kind, warm, and professional self, but what most struck me at that moment was how funny he was,鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淎nd that supply of smiles and laughs (and warmth) were injected at just the right and needed moment鈥攆or me, at any rate. Jack鈥檚 humor and kindness and warmth continued to make all his colleagues鈥� lives easier and richer for the next 30 years.鈥�

Breihan served as the history department chair from 1983-87 and 2001-04 and as a member of University committees, including the Board of Rank and Tenure Committee and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

鈥淲hen Jack was chair of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, I was consistently impressed by his steady leadership and by his ability to listen to disparate voices and find a common consensus,鈥� said Frank Cunningham, Ph.D., associate professor emeritus of philosophy. 鈥淚 thought of Jack as an avid spokesman for the humanities and a very, very effective leader.鈥�

Breihan believed that faculty should have a strong role in faculty governance and encouraged other faculty members to get involved.

鈥淲hen a position came open on an important college committee, Jack would pay attention, and he would talk with other faculty and scout for volunteers until he found the right person for the job. Then he鈥檇 encourage them to volunteer or to run for election,鈥� said McGlamery. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 being a Machiavelli; he wanted everyone at 成人头条 to benefit from the best possible leadership.鈥�

He and his wife, who married in 1970, have three children.

鈥淛ack was a family man, through and through,鈥� McGlamery said. 鈥淗e loved his family and loved to do things with his kids. He also had some hilarious stories about them, including one that I remember in which he recounted with many slow shakes of the head a long litany of ways his children lost or destroyed their winter coats. I remember him pausing with a look of sheer puzzlement before he mentioned the coat that one of the boys lost while waving it out the school bus window. I can still hear Jack鈥檚 clipped delivery: 鈥榃hy he did that he couldn't say鈥攂ut there it went.鈥欌��

The Jack Breihan Essay Prize is awarded to a 100-level first-year student in a history class each year in his honor.

Arrangements

A memorial Mass will be held in 成人头条 University Maryland鈥檚 Alumni Memorial Chapel at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26. A lunch will follow at 1 p.m. in Hug Lounge. Masks are required in all campus buildings in accordance with University and city protocol.