Hanna, Paul Lamont, 1913-1995

Paul L. Hanna was born in Paisley, Ontario, Canada, on May 9, 1913. He was educated in Toronto and St. Petersburg, Florida, and attended the St. Petersburg Junior College from 1931 to 1934. He earned a B.A. in history from George Washington University in 1935, and he earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Stanford University in 1936 and 1939. He specialized in the 20th century British Empire in the Middle East.

He worked as a professor of social sciences and history at the University of Florida for several decades, beginning in 1939. In 1946, he took a leave of absence from UF to serve with the U.S. State Department as a Research Analyst for the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, an effort by the U.S. and Britain to resolve the conflict in Palestine. He worked for the Committee between February and May, and then went on to serve as a Special Consultant for President Truman's Cabinet Committee on Palestine in June and July.

Hanna was author of British Policy in Palestine, published in 1942. He also wrote several articles on the Middle East in various journals and encyclopedias, including the Americana Annual and Middle Eastern Affairs . He served as editor of the Journal of Politics from 1944-1946 and as an advisory editor of Middle Eastern Affairs from 1950 to 1963. In addition to researching and writing about the Middle East, he also examined the testing and evaluation of students in the social sciences. He was a member of the American Historical Association, the Southern Historical Association, the Middle East Institute, the American Political Science Association, and the Southern Political Science Association.

Throughout his career at UF, he served as a member and officer for various committees, including the Committee on Professional Relations and Standards, the Constitution Committee, the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, and multiple college and departmental committees. He also was a longtime member of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) UF chapter, serving as secretary, vice-president, and president.

Paul Hanna died in 1995.

From the guide to the Paul L. Hanna Papers, 1931-1972, (Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida)