Richard Pierce, 86, Historian of Alaska During Russian Period
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Richard Pierce, one of the foremost authorities on Russian Alaska, died Sept. 14 in Kingston, Ontario. He was 86.
Pierce was a professor of history at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
He was considered one of the most prominent scholars in his field – the history of Russia’s presence in Alaska, from Russia’s first settlement on Kodiak Island in 1784 to the United States’ purchase of Alaska in 1867.
Pierce published, wrote, or edited more than 60 volumes on Alaskan history, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
He was a professor of history at Queen’s University from 1959-1988 and at the University of Alaska Fairbanks from 1988-1998. His honors include being named a Fellow for the Study of Russian America in the Academy of Sciences of Russia and Alaska Historian of the Year by the Alaska Northwest Publishing Co. in 1989.
