Ratigan, William

Charlevoix, Michigan resident, novelist and historian of Great Lakes shipwrecks, the Mackinac Bridge, folklore, and other subjects.

From the description of William Ratigan papers, 1939-1978. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34420325

William Ratigan was born in Detroit, Michigan. He attended the University of Detroit, 1931 and 1933, and graduated from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga in 1935. He later went back to college receiving his M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University (1961 and 1963).

Ratigan began his career in the news division of NBC, first in Denver, then during World War Two as supervisor of NBC's war correspondents and commentators for the Pacific Theater.

A prolific writer, Ratigan was the author of several books, many of them on Michigan themes, including Great Lakes shipwrecks, the Mackinac Bridge, Michigan folklore, the building of the Soo Canal among others. Much of his career, after leaving NBC, was devoted to his literary endeavors as a writer and publisher.

From the guide to the William Ratigan papers, 1939-1978, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)