Robert C. Plumb, BA ‘64

Robert C. Plumb, BA ’64 is the author of “Your Brother in Arms: A Union Soldier’s Odyssey” (University of Missouri Press, 2011) and “The Better Angels: Five Women Who Changed Civil War America” (Potomac Books, University of Nebraska Press, scheduled for release 2019). He held marketing executive positions at General Electric and Fannie Mae working in both U.S. and international markets. Plumb was a student of John T. Horton, BA ’26 who brought history alive for generations of students at UB between 1926 – 67. Horton is remembered for combining scholarship, a passion for history and a flair for the theatrical. He challenged and tested his students’ ideas in order to improve their understanding of the past so they could better understand the challenges of the future. In 1939, Horton received the first Albert J. Beveridge Prize of the American Historical Association for his book, “James Kent: A Study in Conservatism.” He was department chair from 1948 – 67, retiring from teaching in 1973.