In Memoriam: Professor James T. Lemon, Professor Emeritus of Geography

Professor James T. Lemon, professor emeritus of geography, passed away early on Tuesday January 31. Originally from West Lorne in southwestern Ontario, he received a BA from the University of Western Ontario (with the Gold Medal in Geography), an MA from Yale (in Divinity), and then a Masters and PhD (both in Geography) from the University of Wisconsin (1964). He came to the University of Toronto in 1967 after several years teaching at UCLA. Jim was a highly respected and often controversial scholar of historical and urban geography, a Guggenheim Fellow, a mentor for and friend of several generations of students and colleagues, in Canada and abroad. Through his research and teaching he influenced, indeed changed, many careers. He was awarded the CAG Award for Scholarly Distinction in Geography 1997.

In addition to numerous articles, he is also the author of award winning books on early Pennsylvania (The Best Poor Man’s Country, 1972, recently reprinted), which won the prestigious Beveridge prize from the American Historical Association as the best book published in American history that year; and second, Toronto Since 1918: An Illustrated History (1986), a volume short-listed for the City of Toronto annual book award in 1986. Equally prominent was his third book, a path-breaking study entitled Liberal Dreams and Nature’s Limits: Great Cities of North America since 1600 (1996). He was also an active participant in progressive politics (particularly the NDP) at all three levels of government, from the intensely local (in the Annex, and as an elected trustee of the Toronto School Board), to provincial and federal politics. Jim served as chair of the Annex Ratepayers Association and the Confederation of Resident and Ratepayer Associations which led the fight against the Spadina Expressway, and was a member of the Greater Toronto Area Task Force (the Golden Commission) in 1995. He was a contributor to the early phases of programs in community development and interdisciplinary urban studies (Innis College) at the University of Toronto; as well as to co-operative social enterprises in the broader urban community. Throughout his career he was a committed and energetic advocate for members of the community who faced social, economic and physical challenges.