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| Franklin C. Harris III | |
|---|---|
| Name | Franklin C. Harris III |
| Occupation | Academic, Historian |
| Known for | Agricultural history, Mormon studies, Southwestern United States history |
Franklin C. Harris III was an American historian and academic administrator noted for his work on agricultural history, Mormon studies, and the history of the American Southwest. He served in university teaching and leadership roles, produced influential monographs and edited collections, and participated in professional organizations that shaped historiography related to Utah, Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library, and regional historical societies. His career connected scholarly inquiry into John A. Widtsoe, Gordon B. Hinckley, and broader currents of 20th-century United States social and institutional history.
Harris was born into a family with ties to Brigham Young University and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his formative years were spent in settings associated with Provo, Utah and surrounding communities. He completed undergraduate study at Brigham Young University before pursuing graduate training that led him to doctoral work at institutions with prominent programs in American Studies, History and Agricultural History. His mentors included scholars linked to centers at University of Utah, Utah State University, and national figures who had contributed to the historiography of Mormonism and Western United States settlement.
Harris began his academic career as a faculty member at a regional university where he taught courses on American history, agricultural history, and religious history while supervising graduate students who later joined faculties at institutions such as Brigham Young University, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and University of California, Berkeley. He held visiting appointments and research fellowships at research libraries and archives including the Harold B. Lee Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bureau of Land Management archives. His administrative roles encompassed departmental leadership, curriculum development influenced by comparative studies from Yale University and Harvard University graduate programs, and participation in statewide academic consortia that included Utah System of Higher Education partners.
Harris’s research bridged agricultural practice and institutional religion, drawing on primary source collections from the Church History Library, county land records, and federal repositories such as the National Archives and Records Administration. His monographs and articles examined figures and institutions like John A. Widtsoe, Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and agricultural cooperatives in the Intermountain West. He contributed chapters to edited volumes alongside historians associated with Smithsonian Institution projects and regional surveys coordinated with the Western History Association and the Organization of American Historians.
Methodologically, Harris combined quantitative analysis of census and agricultural statistics from the United States Census Bureau with qualitative readings of diaries, sermons, and administrative records tied to Utah Territory transformation, settlement, and modernization. His work engaged debates advanced by scholars connected to Richard Hofstadter's legacy, dialogues with historians from Stanford University and University of Chicago, and collaborative projects with archivists at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and the Utah State Historical Society.
Harris served on editorial boards and chaired committees within organizations such as the Western History Association, the Agricultural History Society, and regional panels convened by the Utah Humanities Council. He was an elected officer in scholarly sections that intersected with the American Historical Association and worked on grant review panels for funding agencies including the National Endowment for the Humanities and state arts councils. Harris also advised municipal and state agencies on historical preservation projects linked to Salt Lake City and rural county landmark nominations, cooperating with preservationists from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Over his career Harris received fellowships and prizes from institutions and foundations, including competitive awards associated with the National Endowment for the Humanities, named fellowships from university research centers, and recognition from regional organizations such as the Utah State Historical Society and the Western History Association. His publications were cited in prize lists and bibliographies maintained by universities like Brigham Young University and University of Utah, and he delivered named lectures that had previously been given by scholars affiliated with Harvard University and Princeton University.
Harris’s personal affiliations reflected long-standing connections to communities in Provo, Utah and to networks of scholars, clergy, and public historians across the Intermountain West. Colleagues and former students remember his mentorship in programs modeled after graduate training at University of California, Berkeley and his civic engagement with organizations such as the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and local historical societies. His papers and research files were deposited in institutional archives where they continue to support studies at repositories like the Harold B. Lee Library and the Church History Library, influencing subsequent work on agricultural reform, religious institutional history, and the social history of the American West.
Category:American historians Category:Historians of the American West Category:Historians of religion