Gillespie, Angus K., 1942-....

Angus Gillespie was born in 1944 and spent his youth in rural Virginia. He graduated from Yale University in 1964 with a BA in American Studies and received a Doctorate in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. At Rutgers, from 1973 to 1975, he was an instructor of American Studies. Subsequently he was an assistant professor from 1975 to 1981, an associate professor from 1981 to 2000 and a full professor from 2000 to the present. Gillespie continues to teach American Studies at Rutgers. He currently resides in New Brunswick, NJ with his wife, Rowena Cosico Gillespie with whom he has two sons, Neil and Tristan.

Gillespie founded the New Jersey Folk Festival in 1975 and still serves as executive director. The yearly festival is held the last Saturday of April on the Douglass College Campus of Rutgers. The festival is organized around a theme that highlights various traditional, indigenous cultures. An estimated 15,000 people attend the festival each year. For more information, see the festival Web site and/or New Jersey Folk Festival collection finding aid .

Gillespie is the author of three books and has contributed to or edited others. His first published book in 1980 is titled Folklorist of the Coal Fields, The Life and Work of George Korson, based upon his doctoral thesis for the University of Pennsylvania. His second book, the subject of Series I in this collection, is Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike, co-authored with Rutgers professor Michael Rockland. He is also the author of the best selling non-fiction work Twin Towers, The Life of the New York City's World Trade Center . The book was first published in 1999 and re-released following September 11, 2001 when it then became a best seller.

Gillespie has also contributed to and edited works on folklore, regional culture, and foodways. He has won many awards and honors including two Fulbright scholarhips and the The New Jersey Folk Festival Lifetime Achievement Award. More information about Gillespie and his accomplishments is available from his Web site .

From the guide to the Guide to the Angus K. Gillespie Papers, ca. 1979-2002, (Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives)