Norbert Macdonald

Bio

Norbert was born in 1925, the last of six children in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Encouraged by his high school teachers to go to college he and his best friend applied to Acadia University and were accepted. He received his BSC in Chemistry in 1946 and went to work for the CNR in Montreal. He also was accepted to Dalhousie medical school but after discovering that science was not for him, he returned to Acadia for a degree in History, an MA at Brown University, and a PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle. His first teaching appointment was at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. At a History Convention in Seattle in 1960 he met Dean Soward who was looking for a U.S. Historian. Norb, being a Canadian, was delighted to return to Canada and teach at U.B.C. where he stayed until his retirement in 1990. His book Distant Neighbors, a comparative study of Seattle and Vancouver, was published in 1987.

Norbert died on April 1, 2015 in Salmon Arm. Obituary, Vancouver Sun, April 10, 2015.

Research

  • Vancouver
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Urban History

Publications

Books

N. MacDonald. Distant neighbors: a comparative history of Seattle and Vancouver. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1987.

Articles/Book Chapters

N. MacDonald, “Phoenix: The History of a Southwestern Metropolis Bradford Luckingham”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 59, pp. 122-123, 1990.

N. MacDonald, “Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning John W. Reps”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 49, pp. 663-664, 1980.

N. MacDonald, “The Shaping of a City: Business and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1885-1915 E. Kimbark MacColl”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 47, pp. 677-678, 1978.

N. MacDonald, “The Canadian Pacific Railway and Vancouver's Development to 1900”, BC Studies, vol. 35, p. 3, 1977.

N. MacDonald, “Vancouver in the Nineteenth Century”, Urban History Review, pp. 51-54, 1975.

N. MacDonald, “A Critical Growth Cycle for Vancouver, 1900-1914”, BC Studies, vol. 17, p. 26, 1973.

N. MacDonald, “Mill Town: A Social History of Everett, Washington, from Its Earliest Beginnings on the Shores of Puget Sound to the Tragic and Infamous Event Known as the Everett Massacre Norman H. Clark”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 40, pp. 407-408, 1971.

N. MacDonald, “Population Growth and Change in Seattle and Vancouver, 1880-1960”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 39, pp. 297-321, 1970.

N. MacDonald, “Seattle, Vancouver, and the Klondike”, Canadian Historical Review, vol. 49, pp. 234-246, 1968.

Additional

N. MacDonald, “Phoenix: The History of a Southwestern Metropolis”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 59. pp. 122-123, 1990.

N. MacDonald, “Reviews of Books – Phoenix: The History of a Southwestern Metropolis by Bradford Luckingham”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 59. p. 122, 1990.

N. MacDonald and Hale, L. (., “MacDonald, Norbert. Distant Neighbours: A Comparative History Of Seattle And Vancouver // Review”, B.C. Historical News, vol. 22. p. 28, 1989.

N. MacDonald, “Abbott, "Portland: Planning, Politics, and Growth in a Twentieth-Century City" (Book Review)”, Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire, vol. 19. p. 477, 1984.

N. MacDonald, “Olien and Olien, "Oil Booms: Social Change in Five Texas Towns" (Book Review)”, Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire, vol. 18. p. 466, 1983.

N. MacDonald, “KNIGHT, ROLF. "Along the No. 20 Line: Reminiscences of the Vancouver Waterfront" (Book Review)”, BC Studies, vol. 50. p. 65, 1981.

N. MacDonald, “Stave, "The Making of Urban History" (Book Review)”, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 71. p. 44, 1980.

N. MacDonald, “Cities of the American West: A History of Frontier Urban Planning”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 49. pp. 663-664, 1980.

N. MacDonald, “The Making of Urban History: Historiography through Oral History”, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 71. pp. 44-44, 1980.

N. MacDonald, “The Shaping of a City: Business and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1885-1915”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 47. pp. 677-678, 1978.

N. MacDonald, “Pessen, "Three Centuries of Social Mobility in America" (Book Review)”, Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire, vol. 11. p. 128, 1976.

N. MacDonald, “WILSON, WILLIAM H. "Coming of Age: Urban America 1915-1945" (Book Review)”, Canadian Historical Review, vol. 57. p. 336, 1976.

N. MacDonald, Canada), N. Museum of, and Canada, N. Film Board, “Vancouver's early development: Vancouver, premières étapes”, vol. series 1, vol. 23; ser. 1, v.23. 1976.

N. MacDonald, “NASKE, CLAUS-M. "An Interpretative History of Alaskan Statehood" (Book Review)”, Canadian Historical Review, vol. 56. p. 122, 1975.

N. MacDonald, “Cuff, "The War Industries Board: Business-Government Relations during World War I" (Book Review)”, Canadian Journal of History/Annales canadiennes d'histoire, vol. 9. p. 105, 1974.

N. MacDonald, “MARCUS, ROBERT D. "Grand Old Party: Political Structure in the Gilded Age 1880-1896" (Book Review)”, Canadian Historical Review, vol. 54. p. 332, 1973.

N. MacDonald, “Canada Views the United States: Nineteenth Century Political Attitudes”, The Economic History Review, vol. 24. pp. 312-313, 1971.

N. MacDonald, “GREGSON, HARRY. "A History of Victoria 1842-1970" (Book Review)”, BC Studies, vol. 11. p. 74, 1971.

N. MacDonald, “Mill Town: A Social History of Everett, Washington, from Its Earliest Beginnings on the Shores of Puget Sound to the Tragic and Infamous Event Known as the Everett Massacre”, Pacific Historical Review, vol. 40. pp. 407-408, 1971.

N. MacDonald, “Dyck and Krosby, eds., "Empire and Nations: Essays in Honour of Frederic H. Soward" (Book Review)”, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 62. p. 93, 1971.

N. MacDonald, “Empire and Nations: Essays in Honour of Frederic H. Soward”, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 62. pp. 93-93, 1971.

N. MacDonald, “"The United States and Canada", ed. Dickey (Book Review)”, Western Humanities Review, vol. 19. p. 271, 1965.

N. MacDonald, “Impressions of a City”, The Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 53. pp. 84-84, 1962.

N. MacDonald, “THROCKMORTON, ARTHUR L. "Oregon Argonauts: Merchant Adventures on the Western Frontier" (Book Review)”, Canadian Historical Review, vol. 43. p. 231, 1962.

N. MacDonald, “Morley, "Vancouver: From Milltown to Metropolis" (Book Review)”, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, vol. 53. p. 84, 1962.