Edward N. Peterson

Edward N. Peterson (1925–2005) was an American historian and professor at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls from 1954 until his death in 2005.

Edward N. Peterson was born on August 27, 1925, in St. Joseph, Missouri, the son of Roscoe D. Peterson and Rachel B. (White) Peterson.

Drafted into the U.S. Army on March 28, 1944.

He served in the Anti-tank Platoon, 1st Battalion, 274th Infantry Regiment, of the 70th Infantry Division (United States), and was sent to Europe on December 1, 1944.

He was at the Front on the Rhine River by Christmas 1944, part of the 7th and later the 3rd Armies.

He earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1953.

His specialty was German history, particularly the World War II period and the German Democratic Republic, a field in which he wrote a number of books.

He received his PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1953.

After one year at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, he joined the faculty of Wisconsin State College, which became the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.

In 1963, he became Chair of the Social Science Department and then chair of the History Department until 1991.

He was also active in the German Studies Association, and was president and secretary of the Upper Midwest History Conference; Secretary & Treasurer Pierce County Historical Association.

He received research grants from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for 1963–64, 1966, 1985; the National Endowment for the Humanities 1969–70, and the Social Science Research Council 1970–71.

He supported wife Ursula's writings and publications on the History of River Falls and Pierce County, as well as her research into family history.

Starting there in 1954, he taught courses in modern history until March 18, 2005—nearly 51 years.