Stuart Bruce Kaufman

Background

Stuart Kaufman was born on February 15, 1942, in New York, the United States. He grew up in North Miami Beach.

Education

Stuart received his bachelor's degree (1963) and then a master's degree (1964) in American history, both from the University of Florida. He earned his doctorate in American history from Emory University in Atlanta in 1971.

Career

Kaufman began his extensive teaching career in 1965, first at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. From there he went to Texas A & M University and later to the University of Maryland at College Park, where he taught for almost thirty years. In 1973 Kaufman’s Samuel Gompers and the Origins of the American Federation of Labor, was published. At that time, Kaufman advised the leaders of the AFL to preserve the papers of Gompers and worked with them to set up an archival system now stored in the George Meany Memorial Archives and Historical Center where he served as director from 1987 to 1989. Other career posts included serving as the acting historian for the U.S. Department of Labor in 1974.

Stuart also worked on a twelve-volume set, editing the papers of Gompers. He completed five of the volumes before his death. His other credits include A Vision of Unity: The History of the Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union and Challenge and Change: The History of the Tobacco Workers International Union.

Achievements

• Kaufman gained prominence in the field of history for his work on Samuel Gompers, the organizer of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
  
  Stuart helped assemble the archives of the United Mine Workers of America and the bakery and confectionary workers, as well as the cigar makers.
  
  Stuart also helped create a roundtable of labor archivists and was a founder and editor in 1988 of Labor's Heritage, a quarterly magazine. In his effort to popularize labor history, he helped persuade President Clinton to declare May to be labor history month.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Samuel Gompers and the Origins of the American Federation of Labor, 1848-1896. (Contributions in Economics & Economic History)

    (Contends that the principles underlying Marx's First Inte...)

    1973

Connections

Kaufman is survived by his wife, Phyllis; his father, Nathan; a brother, Myron; a sister, Ronnie; and a son, David.

Father:

Nathan Kaufman

Wife:

Phyllis Kaufman

Brother:

Myron Kaufman

Sister:

Ronnie Kaufman

Son:

David Kaufman

colleague:

Samuel Gompers