Cornelis Willem de Kiewiet was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1902. After moving to South Africa, he received his B.A. in 1923 and M.A. with honors in 1924 from the University of Witwatersrand, and his Ph.D. in Modern History from the University of London in 1927. From 1927 to 1929 he studied at the University of Paris and the University of Berlin. From 1929 to 1942 he was a professor at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he became a U. S. citizen in 1939. de Kiewiet came to Cornell University in 1941 as a professor of Modern European History, was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1945, was named Provost in 1948, and served as acting president from 1949 to 1951.
From the guide to the Cornelius W. de Kiewiet papers, 1949-1951., (Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library)
