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               Lowell Joseph Ragatz was a professor of history at George Washington University from 1924-49, and served as chairman of the department from 1934-37. After receiving early education at his home town of Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin, Ragatz went to the University of Wisconsin where he graduated B.A. 1920, M.A. 1921, and Ph.D. in 1925. He continued his graduate study at the University of Pennsylvania in 1921-22, the University of Grenoble in 1922, University of Paris in 1922-23, College of France in 1922-23, Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques in 1922-23, and the London School of Economics in 1923.

He was teaching fellow at the University of Wisconsin in 1920-21 and at the University of Pennsylvania in 1921-22 before coming to GW in 1924. He was a delegate to the second Congress of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History, a lecturer at the War Department in 1942 and the Lend- Lease Administration’s African Mission Training School at Washington, D.C., in 1943 (the lecture was published as Introduction to French West Africa and Introduction to French North Africa), and a consultant with the U.S. Information Office in London during 1947-48.

Dr. Ragatz was regarded as a pioneer of African studies in the United States.Ragatz had a seminal role in West Indian historical studies and devoted his final academic post at Ohio State University in the 1960’s to the history of the West Indies.He was a member of the American Historical Association, the American Association of University Professors, the Inter-American Bibliographical and Library Association, Societe d’Histoire Moderne, Societe d’Histoire des Colonies Francaises. He edited twenty-eight volumes for the American Historical Association from 1929-42, and authored seventeen books from 1922-62. He was awarded the Justin Winsor Prize of the American Historical Association in 1926 and a Guggenheim Fellowship for 1933 and 1934.

Lowell Ragatz operated the Reliance Stamp Company from 1916-1924. Used the trading names George van den Berg and Janet van den Berg when dealing with stamps.He and his wife Janet were noted stamp collectors and members of several of Philatelic Associations.