Benjamin Gibbs Kohl died at home Thursday, June 10, 2010 in Betterton, Md. from pancreatic cancer. He was 71.
The younger son of Catherine Bennett Carpenter Kohl and Victor Philip Kohl, Ben was born on Hedgelawn Farm near Middletown on Warwick Road.
A graduate of Middletown High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree in history from the University of Delaware, and a doctorate in medieval and renaissance history from Johns Hopkins University. He held early teaching positions at the University of Delaware, Franklin and Marshall College and Johns Hopkins University. From 1966 until his early retirement in 2001, he taught in the department of history at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and served as chair of the department for seven years. He retired as Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities.
During his distinguished academic career, Ben earned numerous fellowships and awards including ones from the Fulbright Commission in Italy, a Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, a Delmas Foundation Grant for the study of Venetian history, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and an Andrew Mellon Emeritus Fellowship in the Humanities after his retirement.
In 2009, he completed a massive compilation from original documents of all Venetian office holders from the fourteenth through the sixteenth century, now a database on the Renaissance Society of America’s web site available to all scholars. His final essay, “Cicero in Chestertown,” a translation of the first Latin oration on the Eastern Shore, delivered at the first commencement of Washington College, will be published by the Maryland Historical Society.
Ben was a life member of the Renaissance Society of America, The Medieval Academy and the American Historical Association. He was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London, and served, as the founding president, on the Boards of the American Friends of the Warburg Institute in London, Renaissance Studies in Oxford and the Historical Society of Kent County, Md.
He was a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors of Washington College, served as Secretary of the Town of Betterton Planning Commission and President of the Hedgelawn Foundation, of Lynch Md, a small charitable trust dedicated to the promotion of the humanities, historical preservation and the visual and performing arts on Delmarva and in Venice, Italy. He also served on the Board of Kent County Social Services and worked closely with The Friends of the Miller Library at Washington College and with the Betterton Community Development Corporation.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Judith Cleek Kohl, a son Benjamin Gibbs Kohl, Jr. and his wife Kimberley Libercci Kohl of Betterton, Md. and Brooklyn, N.Y., a daughter Laura Kohl Ball and her husband Adrian Graham Ball, a granddaughter Haley Lee Carpenter Ball of Cortland Manor, N.Y. and his brother Victor Philip Kohl, Jr. of Washington D.C. and Rock Hall, M.D.
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Benjamin Gibbs Kohl died at home Thursday, June 10, 2010 in Betterton, Md. from pancreatic cancer. He was 71.
The younger son of Catherine Bennett Carpenter Kohl and Victor Philip Kohl, Ben was born on Hedgelawn Farm near Middletown on Warwick Road.
A graduate of Middletown High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree in history from the University of Delaware, and a doctorate in medieval and renaissance history from Johns Hopkins University. He held early teaching positions at the University of Delaware, Franklin and Marshall College and Johns Hopkins University. From 1966 until his early retirement in 2001, he taught in the department of history at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and served as chair of the department for seven years. He retired as Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities.
During his distinguished academic career, Ben earned numerous fellowships and awards including ones from the Fulbright Commission in Italy, a Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, a Delmas Foundation Grant for the study of Venetian history, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and an Andrew Mellon Emeritus Fellowship in the Humanities after his retirement.
In 2009, he completed a massive compilation from original documents of all Venetian office holders from the fourteenth through the sixteenth century, now a database on the Renaissance Society of America’s web site available to all scholars. His final essay, “Cicero in Chestertown,” a translation of the first Latin oration on the Eastern Shore, delivered at the first commencement of Washington College, will be published by the Maryland Historical Society.
Ben was a life member of the Renaissance Society of America, The Medieval Academy and the American Historical Association. He was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London, and served, as the founding president, on the Boards of the American Friends of the Warburg Institute in London, Renaissance Studies in Oxford and the Historical Society of Kent County, Md.
He was a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors of Washington College, served as Secretary of the Town of Betterton Planning Commission and President of the Hedgelawn Foundation, of Lynch Md, a small charitable trust dedicated to the promotion of the humanities, historical preservation and the visual and performing arts on Delmarva and in Venice, Italy. He also served on the Board of Kent County Social Services and worked closely with The Friends of the Miller Library at Washington College and with the Betterton Community Development Corporation.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Judith Cleek Kohl, a son Benjamin Gibbs Kohl, Jr. and his wife Kimberley Libercci Kohl of Betterton, Md. and Brooklyn, N.Y., a daughter Laura Kohl Ball and her husband Adrian Graham Ball, a granddaughter Haley Lee Carpenter Ball of Cortland Manor, N.Y. and his brother Victor Philip Kohl, Jr. of Washington D.C. and Rock Hall, M.D.
A private graveside service was held at Old Saint Anne’s in Middletown, where his cremated remains were put directly in the ground. He wanted to “go green.”
A memorial service will be held at 12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. and another in Italy later this year.
In lieu of flowers, Ben suggested contributions in his memory to the Historical Society of Kent County, P.O. Box 665, Chestertown, MD 21620 or Miller Library, Washington College, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown MD 21620.
Arrangements were made by Daniels & Hutchison Funeral Home LLC, Middletown.
On-line condolences may be sent to www.daniels-hutchison.com.
