Janet Fireman (1945- )
Janet Fireman was the 37th President of the
Western History Association, serving from
1997 to 1998. Fireman’s honors and professional activities in western and public history
are extensive. She taught Spanish Borderlands,
Colonial Latin America, Iberia, Pre-Columbian
Civilizations, and Women’s History at CSU
Fresno for five years before becoming curator
and later Chief Curator of History at the Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County. As a
consultant for exhibitions and programs, she
worked with The Getty, Autry National Center,
and NEH. In 2001 she became editor of California History, a position she presently maintains.
As Adjunct Professor of History at USC, Fireman assists with graduate student mentoring; at
Loyola Marymount University, she is Scholarin-Residence with editorial offices in the History
Department.
Born on May 9, 1945 in Phoenix, Fireman
earned her B.A. from the University of Arizona
(1967), her M.A. (1968), and Ph.D. (1972) from
the University of New Mexico. She authored
The Spanish Royal Corps of Engineers in the Western Borderlands: Instrument of Bourbon Reform, 1764-1915 (1977) and her work on the West and Spanish Southwest is found in nearly
twenty academic journals. Selected essays include: “The Seduction of George Vancouver: A Nootka
Affair” (Pacific Historical Review, 1987), “Beautiful Deceiver: The Absolutely Divine Lola Montez” (Montana, 1997), “The Latitudes of Home: A Particular Place in Western History” (Western
Historical Quarterly, 1999), and “Between Horizons: Traveling the Great Central Valley” (Pacific
Historical Review, 2012). She earned grants from the Woodrow Wilson Center, Mead Foundation,
and Huntington Library. Dr. Fireman also dedicated her time to the Huntington-USC Institute on
California and the West, California Studies Association, and the Pacific Coast Branch of the AHA,
of which she was president in 2010-2011.
The WHA benefitted enormously from Dr. Fireman’s involvement. Her participation began in
1966 as an undergraduate conference attendee. Since then she has been involved in numerous
WHA program sessions, committees, and the council. Fireman was a driving force for establishing the Bert M. Fireman Award for best student article in Western Historical Quarterly. The prize
celebrates her father’s memory and “his devotion to intellectual honesty with his students, with
researchers and others.”
Janet Fireman’s role in the historical profession is reminiscent of this legacy. She is deeply respected
by her colleagues and peers, and scholars hold great admiration for her career in the fields of western and public history.
Sources:
“Milestones: Janet R. Fireman,” Stephen Becker, California History (Winter 2000, Vol. 79, No. 4);
“Bert M. Fireman Award,” http://www.usu.edu/whq/fireman.htm; “Message from the President,”
Janet R. Fireman, WHA 38th Annual Conference Program, 7-8.
Authored by:
Elaine Marie Nelson, University of Minnesota, Morris