Robert K. Murray


Robert K. Murray was a 20th-century American professor of history at the Pennsylvania State University for 35 years, best known for The Harding Era, a biography of US President Warren G. Harding, which won a History Book of the Month Club selection, McNight Distinguished Book Award, and Phi Alpha Theta National Book award.

Background

Robert Keith Murray was born on April 9, 1922, in Union City, Indiana. His parents were Darrell Richard and Orpha Alice Michael Murray. He attended public schools in Columbus, Ohio. In 1943, he earned both BA and BS degrees. In 1943, he earned an MA and in 1949 a doctorate in Modern American History from Ohio State University.

Career

During World War II, Murray served as a Signal Intelligence Specialist in Europe. Immediately after the war, he served in the National Security Agency.
Murray began his long academic career as instructor in History at Ohio State University. In 1949, he joined Pennsylvania State University. In 1959, he became full professor of American History. He headed History Department. He served as assistant graduate dean. He helped develop and plan Penn State's Kern Graduate Center. In 1974, Murray became a Senior Fellow in the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. In 1984, he retired from Penn State after 35 years there.
Murray helped open the Harding Papers to the public, based on which he wrote The Harding Era .
Outside of academics, Murray serves as an institutional Peace Corps representative, special consultant to the American Council on Education, member of the National Archives Commission, and referee for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Personal life and death

On December 7, 1943, Murray married Evelyn Fay Keller ; they had two daughters.
Beyond Penn State, Murray was a member of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the National Education Association, the Pennsylvania Historical Association, and American Association of University Professors.
Murray died age 96 on February 9, 2019, in Tampa, Florida.

Awards

Murray wrote or co-wrote more than six books, more than 30 articles, and many book chapters and book reviews.
Books: