Dr. Lewis H. Thomas (1917-1982), Founding Fellow

Highlights

Provincial Archivist of Saskatchewan (1948-1957); drafted first archival legislation for Saskatchewan; renowned historian, teacher and scholar of the history of Saskatchewan, Alberta and western Canadian socialism.

Education and Background 

Born in Saskatoon, Lewis Herbert Thomas received both his BA (1940) and his MA (1941) from the University of Saskatchewan, and later a PhD in history from the University of Minnesota (1953). 

Professional Career and Contributions to the Profession 

Lewis H. Thomas began his career in 1946 as Assistant Provincial Archivist for Saskatchewan. In 1948, he was promoted to Provincial Archivist. During his tenure he drafted the first archival legislation for the Government of Saskatchewan, and established the policies and procedures governing Saskatchewan Archives Board operations for both the Saskatoon and Regina sites (the Saskatchewan Archives has since been centralized to one site in Regina). He also served as editor of Saskatchewan History during this period. 

A noted scholar of western Canadian history, Thomas departed for academe in 1957, to serve as Associate Professor of History at the Regina campus of the University of Saskatchewan, and in 1964 moved again to join the History Department of the University of Alberta. Achieving the rank of full professor in 1965, he served as departmental chair from 1965-1968. He retired from the University of Alberta in 1982 but continued to research and write on socialism in Western Canada. 

Thomas’ publications included The North-West Territories, 1870-1905, William Aberhart and Social Credit in Alberta and Essays on Western History. He also served long and effectively on the National Historic Sites Board of Canada, from 1968-1976.  

Honours, Awards and Recognition 

• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Saskatchewan, 1972 
• Honorary life membership in the Canadian Historical Association, 1979 
• Honorary membership in the Archives Society of Alberta, 1982 
• ACA Fellow, 1982  
• Order of Canada, 1983 

• Lewis H. Thomas fonds, University of Alberta Archives 
• The Developing West: Essays on Canadian History in Honor of Lewis H. Thomas, ed. John E. Foster, University of Alberta Press, 1983

Photo source: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/postcards-from-the-past/lewis-herbert-thomas/