Alfred G. Bailey, 1905-1997, Founding Fellow 

Highlights

Atlantic Canadian academic, museologist and author whose strong advocacy helped establish the New Brunswick Provincial Archives.

Education and Background 

Born in Quebec, Dr. Alfred Goldsworthy Bailey received his BA in 1927 from the University of New Brunswick, and his MA (1929) and PhD (1934) from the University of Toronto, specializing in ethno-history and aboriginal culture. 

Professional Career 

Alfred Bailey led a varied career focused mainly on historical scholarship and writing, both academic and poetic. He began in 1935 as a museologist at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, serving as Assistant Director and Associate Curator. In 1939 he left to become the first head of the University of New Brunswick (UNB) History Department, a position he would hold until 1969. He concurrently held several other UNB positions, including Honorary Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of the UNB (1946-1959), Dean of Arts (1946-1964), and Vice-President Academic (1965-1969). Bailey retired in 1970 and was appointed Professor Emeritus. 

As a writer, Bailey co-founded the Bliss Carman Society writer’s group in 1940, and led its evolution into The Fiddlehead Magazine (renowned international literary journal based at UNB) in 1945, and co-edited the Literary History of Canada: Canadian Literature in English(1967); his 1976 “Overture to Nationhood” essay was published there as well. His solo publications include The Conflict of European and Eastern Algonkian Cultures, 1504-1700: A Study in Canadian Civilization (1937; 2nd ed. 1969), Culture and Nationality: Essays (1972), as well as several books of poetry. He edited Letters of James and Ellen Robb: Portrait of a Fredericton family in early Victorian times (1983).  

Contributions to the Profession 

Alfred Bailey served on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, the National Library advisory board, and the Governor General’s Literary Awards committee. As a keen advocate for the creation of a provincial archives in New Brunswick, his efforts helped establish the New Brunswick Provincial Archives in 1967.  

Honours, Awards and Recognition 

• Order of Canada, 1978 
• ACA Fellow, 1989 
• Writers Federation of New Brunswick commemoration: Alfred G. Bailey Poetry Prize 
• UNB Alfred G. Bailey Undergraduate Scholarship, awarded annually to a student majoring in history  

• Alfred G. Bailey fonds, University of New Brunswick Archives 
• Bailey, Alfred Goldsworthy, The Canadian Encyclopedia, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alfred-bailey  

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