Frederic C. Lane (born November 23, 1900, in Lansing, Michigan – October 14, 1984) was a historian who specialized in Medieval history with a particular emphasis on the region of Venice.
The son of Alfred Church Lane and his wife Susanne Foster (Lauriat) Lane, Frederic Lane received his B.A. from Cornell University in 1921, his M.A. from Tufts College in 1922, where he wrote a master's thesis on "The economic history of Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century",[1] and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1930 with a doctoral thesis on "Venetian Ships and Shipbuilders of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries."[2] He began his graduate studies at the University of Bordeaux in 1923–1924, then studied at the University of Vienna in 1924, before going to Harvard University in 1925–1926. While a Harvard graduate student he was John Thornton Kirkland Fellow for Research in Italy in 1927–1928. He married Harriet Whitney Mirick on 4 June 1927. The couple had three children.[3]
He was appointed instructor in history at the University of Minnesota in 1926, before being hired at The Johns Hopkins University as an instructor. There, he served as an assistant professor from 1931–1935. Promoted to associate professor in 1936, and full professor in 1946, he retired in 1966 as professor emeritus.[3]
Lane's research interests focused on the Republic of Venice. His research on the city as a maritime trading center, particularly with his research in economic history, helped establish a standard for examining the development and growth of other Italian city-states. He applied his skills and interests in economic and maritime history to write the history of American wartime shipping during World War II.
From 1951–1954, he was assistant director at the Social Science division, Rockefeller Foundation, and advised on European policy.[4] He served as historian of the U.S. Maritime Commission, 1946–1947. A member of the American Historical Association, he served as a member of council from 1959 to 1962, and was elected President of the American Historical Association for 1964–1965.[5]
Active in a number of other professional organizations, he was editor of the Journal of Economic History, president of the Society for Italian Historical Studies in 1961–1963, president of the American Historical Association in 1965, president of the Economic History Association 1956–1958, and president of the International Economic History Association, 1966–1968. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Medieval Academy of America.
International recognition of his scholarship included:[8]