author

Milo Milton Quaife

1880–1959

Best known for bringing the history of Michigan and the Great Lakes region to a wide audience, this prolific historian also helped shape major historical collections in Wisconsin and Detroit. His books and edited documents remain useful to readers interested in the American Midwest and the early frontier.

1 Audiobook

Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835 A study of the evolution of the northwestern frontier, together with a history of Fort Dearborn

Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835 A study of the evolution of the northwestern frontier, together with a history of Fort Dearborn

by Milo Milton Quaife

About the author

Born in Nashua, Iowa, in 1880, Milo Milton Quaife was an American historian, writer, editor, and archivist whose work centered on Michigan, the Great Lakes, and the broader Old Northwest. Sources consistently describe him as a specialist in regional and frontier history, and note that he studied at Grinnell College, the University of Missouri, and the University of Chicago.

Quaife combined scholarship with public historical work. He served as head of the Wisconsin Historical Society and later worked as secretary-editor of the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library. He also taught as a lecturer at Wayne State University, helping connect archival research with students and general readers.

He is remembered not only for writing history, but for editing and preserving it. His career was built around gathering documents, shaping historical publications, and making the past of the Midwest more accessible. Quaife died in 1959.