Tom Bard Jones was born on June 21, 1909 in Dunkirk, New York. He earned his B.A. in 1931, M.A. in 1932 and Ph.D. in 1934, all from the University of Michigan. He joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1935 as an assistant professor of ancient history; he was promoted to professor in 1949. He took one leave from the University, to serve in the Naval Reserve from 1942-1946. In 1970, Dr. Jones was awarded the title of Regents' professor, the highest honor bestowed upon the faculty at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Jones was responsible for establishing the first ancient history sequence at the University, knew approximately a dozen languages and was one of the few people in the world that could read Sumerian cuneiform. During his tenure, Dr. Jones published over 100 books, articles and reviews. He retired in 1977 as Regents' professor emeritus. Tom Jones died on December 6, 1999.
From the guide to the Tom B. Jones papers, circa 1935-1977, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc])
