After graduation, Donald F. Putnam worked at the Ontario Research Foundation in Toronto. In 1938, he was a research assistant in the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto. Later he was a demonstrator and then a lecturer. D.F. Putnam and Griffith Taylor established the first full department of geography in Canada in 1938 in Toronto. In 1942 he was assistant professor of geography at the University of Toronto, professor in 1948, and in 1954 he became chairman of the department. He died in 1977.
From the description of Correspondence and articles related to Donald F. Putnam, OAC '27. 1925- 1977. (University of Guelph). WorldCat record id: 629724686