author
Dunbar Rowland
1864–1937
A pioneering archivist and historian, he helped shape how Mississippi preserved its past. Best known for leading the state archives from its founding, he also wrote widely on Southern and Mississippi history.
1 Audiobook
A Mississippi View of Race Relations in the South
by Dunbar Rowland
About the author
Born in Oakland, Mississippi, on August 25, 1864, Dunbar Rowland became an attorney, historian, and one of the key figures in early state archival work. He studied at the University of Mississippi and later at the University of the South, building a career that blended law, public service, and historical research.
Rowland is most closely associated with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where he served as the first director from 1902 until his death in 1937. During those decades, he helped establish the department as a major center for collecting government records and historical materials, and he became known for promoting the preservation of Mississippi's documentary heritage.
He also wrote and edited numerous works on Mississippi and the South, including documentary collections and historical studies. Rowland died in Jackson, Mississippi, on November 1, 1937, but his long tenure left a lasting mark on how the state's history was organized, published, and remembered.