James Ronald Gibson (April 25, 1935 – May 29, 2026) was a Canadian historian and geographer, who wrote and published extensively on Siberia, the Northwest Coast of America and on Alaska's and California's Russian history.
Early life and career Gibson was born on April 25, 1935 in Chilliwack, British Columbia, where he was also raised. He first studied at the University of British Columbia, where he earned a B.A.in 1959. He pursued further studies at the University of Oregon, earning an M.A. there in 1962, and completed his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1967. After his studies, he worked as a professor of historical geography of Russia at York University from 1966 to 1996.
He studied the Russian language during the 1960s, the height of the Cold War. This enabled him to work in the Soviet archives, where he obtained many manuscripts which he subsequently translated into English. His book Otter Skins, Boston Ships, and China Goods: The Maritime Fur Trade of the Northwest Coast, 1785–1841 (McGill-Queen's University Press, revised 2024), earned him the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for B.C. History for 1992.
Gibson was a visiting scholar in Japan, where at Hokkaido University there is a 2500-item James R. Gibson Library, and also in New Zealand, and Hawaii. In 1972, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1989, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Personal life and death Gibson met his wife-to-be, Gail, in Madison, Wisconsin, and got married in 1963. They had two children and one grandchild. He died on May 29, 2026, at the age of 91.
Works Monographs
Books edited
Collaborations
Articles
References