John Avery Dittmer

John Avery Dittmer, 84, passed away on Friday, July 19, 2024 after a brief illness.

Born in Seymour on Oct. 30, 1939, he was the oldest of six children of J. Avery and Melba Dittmer.

John was a graduate of Seymour High School (1957) and Indiana University (1961), where he received his PhD in history (1967). He was a professor of history at Tougaloo College (Jackson, Miss., 1967-1979) Brown University (Providence, R.I., 1979-1981), MIT (Boston, Mass., 1981-1983) and DePauw University (Greencastle, 1985-2003).

In 1995 he published a history of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi titled “Local People,” which won the Bancroft Prize for American History (1995).

John is survived by his wife, Ellen, daughter Julie, son Dave and their families.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in John’s name may be gifted to an organization of the donor’s choosing.