In 2002, Dr. Kolchin received the Francis Alison Award, UD’s highest faculty honor established by the Board of Trustees to recognize the scholarship, professional achievements and dedication of the faculty. In announcing the honor, then-President Daivd Roselle said, “Peter Kolchin is an accomplished historian and the author of numerous books and articles on American slavery, the Civil War and emancipation…. We hold Peter and his scholarship in the highest regard.” Then-Provost Dan Rich added, “Peter Kolchin is equally adept at translating his scholarly insights into lessons in his classroom, where he demonstrates exceptional skills as a teacher."

A prolific writer, Dr. Kolchin was the author of five highly regarded books. His book, Unfree Labor: American Slavery and Russian Serfdom, won the Charles S. Sydnor Award of the Southern Historical Association, the Bancroft Prize in American History given by Columbia University and the Avery O. Craven Award of the Organization of American Historians. His book, American Slavery: 1619-1877, received an Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America and was called “a miraculous achievement,” by a critic in The New Yorker, who added, “No history book published this year is more important to understanding America’s past and present than this concise, well-written and sensibly argued survey of America’s greatest shame.” His most recent book, Emancipation: The Abolition and Aftermath of American Slavery and Russian Serfdom, was published in 2024.

He supervised more than a dozen doctoral students at UD, and in 2015, several of his former students honored him with a volume, New Directions in Slavery Studies, edited by Jeff Forret and Christine E. Sears. “Few practicing historians of slavery today,” they noted, “have escaped the influence of Kolchin’s work.” (Editor’s note: Forret and Sears share recollections of Dr. Kolchin below.)

Colleagues remember

Some of Dr. Kolchin’s colleagues, friends and farmer students share their recollections.

‘a masterclass in how to handle historical evidence’

Owen White, professor and interim chair of the Department of History: 

“ I think everyone in the department was proud to be the colleague of so eminent a scholar as Peter Kolchin. Any time he presented his research it felt like watching a masterclass in how to handle historical evidence. Peter is leaving a legacy of finely crafted and highly original scholarship that will continue to influence the way historians think about unfree labor in the United States and beyond. For me, though, Peter was also a dear friend and a model of collegiality. He helped me to feel welcome from the moment I arrived in Delaware from the UK in 2000. I always had the sense he was looking out for me and he was a great source of advice when I needed it. But he was also fun to be with, sharing his latest wine discovery along with his take on the political news, or looking forward to the next trip abroad. His passing is a great loss to our community. I will miss him very much, and so will the students and colleagues who respected him so deeply.”

‘a gentle, wise and intellectually formidable presence’

Rebecca Davis, Miller Family Early Career Professor of History and professor of women and gender studies:

“ Peter was a gentle, wise, and intellectually formidable presence in the history department. Among the most distinguished scholars the department has ever employed, Peter rarely talked about his own work. He seemed more interested in everyone else—their research, teaching, families, vacation plans, political opinions, and hobbies. He and his wife, Anne Boylan, (who also retired from the department in 2016) were, for many years, the department’s unofficial welcoming committee. They hosted every incoming member of the department in their home for a delicious dinner, with Peter selecting a bottle of wine from his vast collection specifically for the occasion. Peter also loved a good debate. If you made an assertion, he asked you for your evidence—a rigorous scholar to the core. But he always did so with a genuine, non-confrontational curiosity in pursuit of deeper understanding. His warmth and kindness shaped the department’s culture, and we will miss him terribly.”

‘enthusiasm for intellectual engagement’

James Brophy, Francis H. Squire Professor of History: 

“Peter Kolchin’s commitment to excellence in scholarship and teaching never wavered. His high standards and enthusiasm for intellectual engagement set a welcome tone, and his generosity with his time and expertise shaped an esprit de corps that visibly moved the department forward. Along with other faculty, Peter’s efforts in rebuilding the graduate program in the 1990s and 2000s brought lasting results. As a newly arrived faculty member in 1992, I benefited enormously from Peter’s counsel, support and high standards. Not only did his profound command of history inspire those around him; his rigor with logical argument and comparative evidence sharpened our own work. The glint in his eye when discussing politics and historiography was always a welcome sight, for it invariably signaled the edifying aperçu that followed. His warm friendship, his sense of community, his concern for the discipline of history, and his optimism for a better tomorrow will be greatly missed.”

‘a well-deserved, truly global and decades-long reputation’

David Shearer, Thomas Muncy Keith Professor Emeritus of History:

“Peter Kolchin was a quintessential scholar. He was endowed with a keen analytical sense and sharp critical abilities. He had a knack for cutting to the center of any issue, argument, or source, summarizing and analyzing it in succinct and articulate ways. Peter spoke in complete and articulate sentences. It reflected his clear and ordered way of thinking and seeing. I don’t think I ever heard him use slang or colloquialisms, and certainly not academic or casual jargon. At the same time, Peter was possessed of an understated but often acidic wit, which he could wield to quiet effect. He was a prolific writer and his books were masterpieces of comparative and transnational history. They resulted in a well-deserved, truly global, and decades-long reputation. Peter never boasted about his academic success or prowess. He was modest about his accomplishments, and this made him accessible to students and colleagues. He produced several generations of young scholars and provided a mainstay of the History Department’s graduate program. He was a mentor not just to graduate students but to younger faculty, as well. It was to my great benefit that he became not only a mentor but a good friend.”

‘an unusually fine and ambitious scholar’

Lawrence Duggan, professor emeritus of history:

“Peter Kolchin was an unusually fine and ambitious scholar. Although he was a historian of the United States, during an early trip to Russia he learned that Russian emancipation of the serfs occurred in the same decade as emancipation of slaves in the U.S.--the 1860s. This led him to steep himself in Russian and Russian history, and to the comparative history of serfdom and slavery more generally, and he became a great historian as a result and added considerable lustre to our department. Although we disagreed by times (e.g., on the teaching of military history), he was always enormously generous to me with his knowledge. As a Europeanist with a multifaceted interest in serfdom and slavery (e.g., in Thomas More's Utopia), I had many questions for him over the space of thirty years, all of which he answered with great learning and generosity. In that respect, he was hardly unique in our unusually collegial department (of which I was a thankful member for 54 years), but I do miss him already and will remember him very fondly.”

‘my model of a true scholar and gentleman’

Jeff Forret, former Ph.D. Student and currently University Professor of History, Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas: 

“Peter's death is a huge loss to the historical profession and to me personally. I could not have asked for a kinder or more generous and supportive dissertation advisor. I am truly blessed to have worked with him and forever indebted to his mentorship. He was always my model of a true scholar and gentleman."

‘what it meant to be an academic’

Christine Sears, former Ph.D. student and currently department chair and associate professor of history, University of Alabama in Huntsville: 

“Peter's comparative slavery work was groundbreaking and inspired my decision to pursue a PhD. Peter was a generous dissertation adviser. He asked penetrating questions and insightful observations on every draft I submitted to him. His written feedback and open-door policy to talk about my work meant I had a strong dissertation and foundation for my first book. 

“Peter modeled what it meant to be an academic in multiple ways. His scholarship was top notch, obviously. He led the Southern Historical Association (he was president of the SHA) in 2013. But I learned so much from his ubiquitous presence at history department events and his formal and informal mentoring of students.Peter and his wife, Dr. Boylan, made an effort to support all history speakers, events and activities. This included the year end picnic, a tradition when I attended. As a first generation academic, I learned from Peter's modeling: be present and available to students and colleagues because doing so signals your commitment to your students and colleagues and allows them to interact with you in a variety of settings. 

“Peter was generous at conferences, alway introducing students to whomever he was speaking, no matter how famous that historian was. I cannot stress what a gift this is to graduate students—this willingness to include us and introduce us to other scholars. He made sure we met historians particularly important to our work. Further, he gathered all his students for a lunch at every conference he attended (and he attended a lot of conferences). How I looked forward to that lunch, catching up with Peter and other Blue Hens. 

“My most poignant memories are of Peter's lunches on campus. Once a week, Peter ate in Trabant, and all students were invited to attend. We talked about history, certainly, but Peter loved to talk about politics. Often, we all laughed and laughed together. Peter had eyes that would twinkle, and we enjoyed seeing that and making him laugh. He listened to our graduate student woes and left space for us to share about our lives, if we were so inclined. It's at one of these lunches that I learned that young Peter had a pet kinkajou. (At least that's what I recall him telling us a story about!)  

“Peter invited his dissertation students into his home to discuss our work in progress. Every once in a while, Peter allowed us to read and respond to his work, permitting us ‘behind the scenes’ into what a true professional's writing process looked like. In this group, we supported each other's progress and learned the value of a writing group to support one's work as a professional historian. 

“Peter was a generous adviser, giving of his time and support. I learned how to be a historian and how to be an academic from him. I will miss him so much.” 

About Peter Kolchin

Born in Washington, D.C., Peter Kolchin grew up in New York City. He received his bachelor’s degree in history from Columbia University in 1964 and his doctorate in history from Johns Hopkins University in 1970.

Before joining the Dlaware faculty, Dr. Kolchin taught at the University of California at Davis, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of New Mexico. During the spring of 1985, he was a visiting professor of history at Harvard University.

He was active in professional historical organizations, including the Organization of American Historians, and he served the Southern Historical Association in many capacities, including a term as president in 2013-14.

Dr. Kolchin’s  many honors included a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, a residency at the Charles Warren Center of Harvard University and election to the Society of American Historians.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Anne M. Boylan, professor emerita of history at UD, and their sons and daughters-in-law: Michael Boylan-Kolchin and Ann Fornof of Austin, Texas; David Boylan-Kolchin and Sara Handy of Washington, D.C.; and by their grandchildren, Marie and Josephine Boylan, and John and Kate Fornof.  Also surviving are his sister, Elly Hardy and her husband, Andrew Hardy, of Ottawa, Kansas. 

A memorial service will be held at a later date. 

To honor his memory, the family suggests a donation to Doctors without Borders or Amnesty International.   

To read his complete obituary or leave online condolences, visit R.T. Foard Funeral Home.