Lawrence Fay Brewster was born on April 29, 1907 in New York City, New York as the only child of Henry and Helen Brewster. He attended public schools in White Plains, New York before his family moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey where he graduated from high school. He earned an A.B. from William and Mary in 1930 and subsequently attended Princeton University where he studied European History and Columbia University where he earned his M.A. in that same field, minoring in political science.
In 1933, Brewster obtained a social studies position at the Cranleigh School for Boys in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1935, he enrolled at Duke University, beginning his pursuit of a Ph.D. in history. While at Duke, he worked as a graduate assistant and from 1938-1939 he held a research editor position with the Historical Records Survery in Raleigh, North Carolina. He also held a teaching position at Clemson University before completing his studies at Duke in 1942. During the final years of World War II, he remained at Duke, as a history instructor.
In 1945, Brewster accepted a position at East Carolina Teachers College in the Department of History. Well-beloved by his students, Brewster was instrumental in the growth and development of the department. Under his leadership, a master of arts in history and the history education curriculum were developed. He also served as director of graduate studies and as an adviser for the Fulbright Award. He endowed three fellowships for graduate students, a lectureship for the history department, and a conference fund.
During his term of service, he was a member of the Friends of the Library, the Chancellor’s Society, the Pitt County Historical Society, and the North Carolina Historical Association. He retired from teaching in 1969, but continued to serve as the historiographer for the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina. On January 20, 1974, the Lawrence F. Brewster Classroom Building was dedicated in his honor. Standing along Tenth Street, the building currently houses multiple departments including history, geography, political science, and planning.
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Citation Information
Title: Lawrence Fay Brewster
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 6/25/2019