N. Merrill Rippy, Ball State University history professor, editor, and author, died September 28, 1980, following an illness of one year.
A specialist in Latin American history, Rippy was the author of Oil and the Mexican Revolution and coeditor with his wife of Forum, an eclectic magazine with an international circulation. He also wrote numerous articles, booklets, pamphlets, and monographs on Mexico and South American nations, including Theory of History: Twelve Mexicans.
Rippy, recognized for his scholarship, received numerous research grants, including a National Defense Education Act Grant, a Ford Foundation Fellowship, a Carnegie Research Grant for study in Mexico, a Smith-Mundt Grant to establish a social science program at the University of Panama, and a Danforth Research Grant for study in Puerto Rico.
Rippy served as president of the Midwest Latin American Studies Association. He belonged to the Conference on Latin American History, the Latin American Studies Association, and the Caribbean Studies Association.
Author notes
The author is Professor of History at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.