Bob Allison to Step Down as Historical Society President

coming October, the South Boston Historical Society will hold its Annual Meeting and the Society will elect a new President. You’ll be happy to know that Bob plans to remain an active member of the South Boston Historical Society, even though he and his wife Phyllis have moved to East Boston. Bob and Phyllis have two children, Philip and John, whom they raised while living here in South Boston from 1992 until 2020.

by Rick Winterson

Robert J. Allison, Ph.D., is a Professor of History and the Chair of History, Language, and Global Culture at Suffolk University in Boston. In addition, Dr. Allison is a prolific author, a skilled lecturer, and a contributing member of several historical museums and sites around Boston. Currently, Bob is the President of the South Boston Historical Society – a position he has held for the last 13 years.

Bob recently made the decision to step down. This

Bob moved to Boston from New Jersey in 1984. He then resumed his college studies at the Harvard University Extension and received a Bachelor of Arts. He pursued his graduate studies at Harvard as well, receiving his Doctorate in History of American Civilization in 1992. Since then, Bob’s excellent teaching has earned him several academic awards, both at Suffolk University and at the Harvard Extension School. His books include “A Short History of Boston”, “Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero”, “The Boston Massacre”, and “The Boston Tea Party”. One of his books, “The American Revolution”, has been translated and published in Mandarin Chinese – the language spoken by more people than any other tongue in the world.

As you can see, Bob’s main area of historical interest is the War for Independence. He claims he received his inspiration for this part of American history from a book entitled “The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution”, which was written by Bernard Bailyn in 1967 and went on to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Bailyn actually autographed Bob’s copy of his book when Bob received his Ph.D.

The South Boston Historical Society was founded in 1982 and has a membership of 100 at this time. Its mission is brief and emphatic: “To preserve and promote the History of South Boston”! The Society is among a number of historical organizations founded on or shortly after America’s 200th Birthday – July 4, 1976. Our own Castle Island Association was first begun in 1976. For your information, South Boston was founded in 1804; we passed our own 200th Birthday 18 years ago.

Before Bob’s term, the Society’s Presidency was occupied by the energetic Elaine Connolly. Prior to Elaine, its President was the legendary William “Doc” Reid.

Among the Society’s accomplishments was the publication of a South Boston History Map in 2004. This is an accurate, detailed map depicting five walking tours of South Boston that take in its various historic sites. The Map has been updated since its first issue. It vividly shows how much history is right here, from the Dorchester Heights Monument commemorating Evacuation Day, out to Castle Island, to the St. Augustine Chapel, the Alger Iron Works, the Army Base site, and then to the Vietnam Memorial in Medal of Honor Park – the first such memorial in the nation. Many of the Society’s activities have involved bringing history to young students, like the classroom talks given by Archer O’Reilly (our own “Henry Knox”) and many other Society members.

For many years, the South Boston Historical Society office had been located in the Paraclete Center on E Street. The Center will soon be refurbished into apartments for the elderly, so at this time the Society’s books and files are in storage. Core Investments, who are constructing Washington Village at the Old Colony/ Dorchester Street intersection, have offered a new home to the Society – office, library, meeting room, and all.

The South Boston Historical Society is alive and well. Our nation’s 250th Birthday is approaching. And we are very grateful to President Bob Allison for all he has contributed to the Society and to South Boston’s history.

The South Boston Branch Library: Read Books in Shade or Sun