Eugene E. Campbell


Eugene Edward "Gene" Campbell was an American professor of history at Brigham Young University.

Biography

Campbell was born and raised in Tooele, Utah, in a working-class Latter-day Saint family, Edward Campbell and Betsy Ann Bowen. When Campbell was fourteen, his father, who was a railroad engineer, died suddenly. His mother was active in the community and her elected position as county treasurer helped the family survive the Great Depression.

Education and military service

Following his 1933 graduation from Tooele High School, his interest in sports led him to attend Snow Junior College in Ephraim, Utah. He was not very active in sports and student government and received his Associate of Arts degree in 1935. Then he served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eastern Canada. After returning home in 1937 and studying history at the University of Utah, Campbell received his bachelor's degree in history with honors in 1939 and his masters degree in 1940.
In 1939, Campbell married Beth Larsen, whom he knew in high school and had dated for seven years. They would have five children.
After teaching LDS Seminary part-time for a year, Campbell became a full-time instructor from 1940 to 1944 in Wayne County, Utah, and Magna, Utah.
From 1944 to 1946, during World War II, Campbell served in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Army as a First Lieutenant. He attended Chaplains School at Harvard University and was assigned to the 71st Infantry Division and received two battle stars.
After the war, Campbell returned to religious teaching in the LDS Church Educational System, this time in the church's Institutes of Religion, first as Institute director at Idaho State University in Pocatello, then as associate director at Utah State University at Logan. Campbell completed his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California in 1952, writing his dissertation on the history of the LDS Church in California.

Academic career

After completing his education, Campbell taught at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, until joining the history faculty of BYU from 1956 to 1980. At BYU, Campbell worked in various capacities and held many positions, including the history department's acting chair and chair, chair of Visiting Professor Lectureships, tour leader for BYU Tours of Europe, associate director for a study abroad program, board member of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, member of the Athletic Advisory Council, member of the Graduate Council, member of the Faculty Advisor Council, president of the BYU chapter of AAUP, member of the board of editors for BYU Studies, and main speaker at the 1973 and 1980 graduations of the College of Social Sciences. He also taught history at the Church College of Hawaii, while on leave from BYU in 1967–68.
Campbell was also involved in the larger historical community. In 1965 he was one of the co-founders of the Mormon History Association, served as its first vice president, and the next year was its second president. He was active in the Utah State Historical Society, serving as president of its Utah Valley Chapter in 1968 and a Fellow in 1978, an honor only given to fifteen others before, including to Fawn Brodie, Leonard J. Arrington, LeRoy Hafen and Juanita Brooks. Campbell was a member of the Danforth Associates and the Western History Association, and consulted for the National Endowment for the Humanities for many years starting in 1975.

List of publications

The following is a list of Campbell's published work:

Books

Articles

Papers

Book reviews

Eugene Campbell reviewed numerous books for various academic journals.

Reviews of Campbell's work

Fort Bridger: Island in the Wilderness
Fort Supply: Brigham Young's Green River Experiment
Utah's History
Utah: A Guide to the State
Establishing Zion
The Essential Brigham Young