Professor.
Born at Winnipeg on 19 June 1920, son of Gabriel H. Smith and Margaret Jane Scott, he attended Kelvin High School and the University of Manitoba, and served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War.
His academic career began in September 1948 when he began teaching history and economics at Brandon College. While there, he helped to organize the Faculty Association and served as an executive member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers. He was a member of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (1959-1966).
In 1964, he moved to the University of Manitoba where he taught Canadian history until retirement in 1985. He was Head of the History Department and a member of the University Senate. He edited several books for the Manitoba Record Society and Manitoba Historical Society, and was Honorary Secretary of the John W. Dafoe Foundation.
On 21 June 1947, he married Shirley-Ann Edmond (?-?) and they had three children.
He died at Winnipeg on 11 February 1996.
Birth registration [William David Smith], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Shirley-Ann Edmond weds W. D. Smith at St. Andrew’s,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 June 1947, page 12.
“Brandon College appointments,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 September 1948, page 23.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 February 1996, page 33.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 November 2023
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