About F.H. Underhill
Frank
Hawkins Underhill was born in Stouffville, Ontario, in 1889. He completed degrees
at the University of Toronto and Oxford University. After serving in the Great
War, he returned to a teaching position at the University of Saskatchewan. In
1927, he began teaching at his alma mater, but his 27-year tenure at Toronto
was far from tranquil.
An inspiring teacher, Underhill was one of this country's earliest intellectual historians. He was also a strident social critic, and many of his writings were devoted to political commentary in the pages of the Canadian Forum and other periodicals.
Throughout his career, Underhill's socialist politics raised the ire of both politicians and administrators. As co-founder of the League for Social Reconstruction and one of the architects of the Regina Manifesto, he often found himself fending off charges of "anti-British" behaviour. His perseverance in his political activities led to what was widely regarded as a victory for the preservation of academic freedom in Canadian universities.
In 1955, Underhill arrived in Ottawa as the curator of Laurier House. He soon became involved with Carleton, serving in its Senate and as a professor of political science. Underhill willed his personal library to Carleton, and upon his death in 1971, the Underhill Reading Room was established within the Department of History. In co-operation with Dr. Blair Neatby, an endowment was inaugurated in memory of Dr. Underhill (the Underhill Reading Room Fund) for the purchase of new books for the Reading Room and for the support of special projects, including this annual graduate student colloquium.
