Wilfred Byron Shaw

Born in Adrian, Michigan, Wilfred Byron Shaw studied at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1904. He later attended the Art School in Chicago, and his career blended writing, illustration, and a deep interest in university life and history.

Shaw became a central figure in the University of Michigan’s alumni world. He served as general secretary of the Alumni Association, edited The Michigan Alumnus, and in 1934 founded the Michigan Alumnus Quarterly Review. His books on the university, including historical surveys of Michigan, made him one of the school’s best-known chroniclers.

Alongside his writing, Shaw was known as an artist and etcher, especially for images of campus buildings, personalities, and scenes from Ann Arbor. That mix of historian and artist gave his work an unusually vivid quality, helping preserve both the facts and the feel of university life.