Alfred W. Crosby

Alfred W. Crosby
Born(1931-01-15)15 January 1931
Died14 March 2018(2018-03-14) (aged 87)
Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University A.B., Boston University Ph.D.
Known forThe Columbian Exchange (1972), Ecological Imperialism (1986)
Scientific career
FieldsHistory
InstitutionsWashington State University
University of Texas, Austin
University of Helsinki

Alfred Worcester Crosby Jr. (January 15, 1931 – March 14, 2018) was a professor of History, Geography, and American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and University of Helsinki. He was the author of books including The Columbian Exchange (1972) and Ecological Imperialism (1986). In these works, he provided biological and geographical explanations for the question why Europeans were able to succeed with relative ease in what he referred to as the "Neo-Europes" of Australasia, North America, and southern South America. America's Forgotten Pandemic (1976) is the first major critical history of the 1918 "Spanish" Flu.