Fordham University mourns the death of Robert F. Jones, PhD, Professor Emeritus of History, on July 2, 2015.
Jones received his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame in 1967. He came to Fordham’s School of Business—now the Gabelli School—in 1961 as an instructor in the Department of Social Science, and retired in 2004 as a professor of history. He was the author of George Washington: Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Leader (Fordham University Press, 2002), The Formation of the Constitution (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971), and ‘The King of the Alley’: William Duer: Politician, Entrepreneur, and Speculator, 1768-1798 (American Philosophical Society, 1993).
Jones taught undergraduate and graduate courses on the early national period of U.S. history, the history of American political parties, and the history of the American presidency. In addition to his post at Fordham, Jones taught National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars for schoolteachers on “Thomas Jefferson: The Intellectual on Mission,” which included visits to Charlottesville and Monticello. He was George Washington Distinguished Professor by appointment of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati. In 1987, he inaugurated the Alexander C. Flick Lectureship at the annual Conference on New York State History
After retiring from Fordham, Jones spent his time traveling, including a trip retracing the route of the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition, reading the books he did not have time for while teaching, and babysitting grandchildren.
His wake will be held at Barrett Funeral Home in Tenafly, N.J. on Sunday, July 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. at St. Cecilia’s Church in Tenafly, on Monday, July 6.
