John L. Brooke (born 1953)is an American historian specializing in early American history and global environmental history. He is Professor Emeritus of History at The Ohio State University. ÃÂ
He is known for studies in public culture and society in the early history of the United States and for advancing the synthesis of climate science, disease history, and earth-systems analysis, with human history. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies, and has received numerous awards, including the Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy, The Merle Curti Prize, the SHEAR Book Prize, and the Theodore C. Blegen Award.
Brooke graduated from Cornell University in 1975, and from the University of Pennsylvania, with an M.A. and Ph.D. in 1982.
Brooke began his academic career teaching at Franklin & Marshall College and Amherst College before joining the faculty at Tufts University in 1983. At Tufts, he rose from assistant professor to professor and later held the Arthur Jr. & Lenore Stern Chair of History.ÃÂ At Tufts he served briefly as department chair and Director of the Archaeology Program.
In 2001, Brooke joined The Ohio State University, where he was an Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor, and held the Warner Woodring Chair in American History. He also held a courtesy appointment in the Department of Anthropology from 2013 to 2023. From 2011 to 2022, he was Director of the Ohio State Center for Historical Research, where he led major interdisciplinary initiatives on disease, health and environment, global state formations, slavery and race in America, and crisis and uncertainty. ÃÂ
Brooke retired from Ohio State as Professor Emeritus in 2023 but continues to publish and participate in scholarly research and collaborative projects.