J. L. Granatstein
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Jack Lawrence Granatstein (born 1939) is a prolific and renowned Canadian historian who specializes in political and military history.
Born in Toronto, Granatstein received his BA from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1961, his MA from the University of Toronto in 1962 and his PhD from Duke University in 1966. He served in the Canadian Army from 1956 to 1966. He taught at York University in Toronto between 1966 and 1996 where he is Distinguished Research Professor of History Emeritus. From 1998 to 2001 he was Director of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Granatstein has been a passionate and outspoken defender of traditional narrative history in lectures, books, print, and broadcast media. Perhaps his best known work is Who Killed Canadian History? He is the author of over sixty books, including Who Killed Canadian History?, Yankee Go Home?, and Victory 1945 (with Desmond Morton). The Generals won the J.W. Dafoe Prize and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography.
The Royal Society of Canada awarded him the J.B. Tyrrell Historical Gold Medal (1992) for "outstanding work in the history of Canada". In 1996, the Conference of Defence Associations Institute named him winner of the Vimy Award. In 1997, he received the Order of Canada. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Western Ontario, the Calgary, as well as Memorial, McMaster, and Ryerson universities. He is a member of the RMC Board of Governors and Chair of the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century. In 2004, Granatstein received a doctor of humane letters degree from Niagara University.
Granatstein has also been involved in television coverage of political and military events. On June 6 2004, he was part of the CBC's coverage of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, as the network's chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge got expert help in the commentary from Granatstein and thoughts from the two surviving Trudeau sons, Sacha and Justin. Granatstein would also help Mansbridge again on May 8, 2005, during the CBC's coverage of the 60th anniversary of VE Day.