John D. Wirth

John D. Wirth, the Gildred Professor of Latin American Studies,  earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1958 and a doctorate in Latin American history in 1967 from Stanford. His first book, The Politics of Brazilian Development, 1930-1954 , won the Bolton Prize in 1971 and his second, Minas Gerais in the Brazilian Federation, 1889-1937, won an honorable mention in 1978. His research included examinations of Inca and Aztec states, urban growth in Manchester and São Paulo, and Pan-American environmental politics.  Read Professor Wirth's full obituary in Stanford News .