Prof. Tolmie earned his doctorate from Harvard University in 1961, and was appointed at UBC in July 1966 after teaching at McMaster University (1957-1958) and Mount Allison University (1958-1966). He was a specialist in Tudor-Stuart Britain, the Northern Renaissance, the Byzantine Empire, and also taught courses in ancient World History until his retirement in July 1990. He published The Triumph of the Saints; The Separate Churches of London 1616-1649 (Cambridge, 1977), which was translated into Japanese in 1983. He retired as associate professor emeritus in July 1990.