John Brush

John E. Brush, a leading human geographer during the last half of the 20th century, passed away on February 20, 2007, in Medford, New Jersey. Born on September 2, 1919, in Jefferson, Pennsylvania, Brush grew up in India, where his parents served as Baptist missionaries in Kharagpur, Bengal. His love of cartography began by mapping his boyhood hikes in the Himalayas. He earned both an MA (1947) and a PhD (1952) in geography from the University of Wisconsin. A Professor Emeritus of Geography at Rutgers University, Brush served on the faculty for 35 years, where he also served as department chair.

Brush’s research touched on Wisconsin, New Jersey, and the cities of India, but his professional and personal interests took him across a wider range of places, from Africa to the British Isles, China, France, Russia, and Scandinavia. His research awards included a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship and several Senior Fellowships from the American Institute of Indian Studies for research in India.

John E. Brush (Necrology). 2007. AAG Newsletter 42(6): 15.