Review of "Centennial Memoirs: Benjamin Franklin Shambaugh," by Nellie Slayton Aurner

Review of

Centennial Memoirs: Benjamin Franklin Shambaugh, by Nellie Slayton Aurner

Five out of five stars

 The author of this book succeeds at their given purpose, creating an informative yet not particularly engaging biography of a longtime professor at the State University of Iowa. At the centennial of the founding of the University, individuals that were often faculty members, were commissioned to write biographies of people with distinguished service to the University. Benjamin Franklin Shambaugh was truly worthy of having such a book written about his achievements.

 Shambaugh’s areas of expertise at the University were in history and political science and he also held executive positions at the University as well as in professional organizations. Shambaugh received his doctorate in 1895 from the State University of Iowa and was almost immediately granted a position on the faculty. He remained an active member of the faculty until 1940, when he was suddenly taken ill and died.

 This monograph is generally a recitation of facts with only a bit of embellishment. It is not a book that will grab and keep your attention, yet it is a worthy description of a man that did a great deal to make the University a seat of the highest levels of learning. The years from 1895 to 1940 saw an enormous change in the political structure of the world, from the overthrow of the monarchies in Europe to the rise of fascism. Shambaugh’s actions in teaching and in local and national professional organizations did a great deal to help students and the public understand the consequences.