Roy Rosenzweig, a leading advocate of using digital mediums and computer technology to reshape the discipline of history and reach the public, died on Thursday of lung cancer, The Washington Post reported. Mr. Rosenzweig was 57.
As director of George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media, Mr. Rosenzweig played an influential role in creating the center’s September 11 Digital Archive, which includes voice mail, BlackBerrry messages, and video from the time of the terrorist attacks. The center has created many other archives and free tools for historians to use.
Mr. Rosenzweig was quoted frequently in the pages of The Chronicle and wrote commentaries for The Chronicle Review. In June 2005, Mr. Rosenzweig wrote “Digital Archives Are a Gift of Wisdom to Be Used Wisely.” And in March 2000, he wrote “The Riches of Hypertext for Scholarly Journals.” —David L. Wheeler
