Rodney Courtney Loehr papers

Rodney Courtney Loehr was born on November 16, 1907 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He earned his B.A. in 1930, M.A. in 1931 and his Ph.D. in history in 1938, all from the University of Minnesota. He began teaching in the history department as a student assistant in 1936. In 1938, Dr. Loehr was hired as an assistant professor in the department to teach agricultural and American economic history. He retired from the University in 1975.

Dr. Loehr enlisted in the Army in 1942 but could not serve because of poor eyesight. He was appointed as an assistant secretary to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1942 and made historian of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1943-1945. From 1951-1953, he was appointed as Special Historian in the Office of the High Commissioner for Germany to complete a history of the German banking system under the U.S. occupation. He retired from the military in 1961 at the rank of Major. Dr. Loehr served as chairman of the University's ROTC committee from 1961 until 1975.