Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Lemon, James Thomas
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1929-2012
History
Raised in West Lorne, Ontario, James (Jim) Thomas Lemon attended the University of Western Ontario where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Geography (1955). He later attended the University of Wisconsin where he received a Master of Science in Geography (1961) as well as his Ph.D. (1964). In 1967, after having worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Prof. Lemon joined the University of Toronto Geography Department, where he remained until his retirement in 1994. He died in Toronto on 31 January 2012.
His career has been spent in the field of urban historical geography of which he has written numerous articles, papers and chapters in books. He also has three books to his credit: The Poor Man's Country: A Geographical Study of Early South eastern Pennsylvania (1972), and Toronto Since 1918: An Illustrated History (1985). The former work, based on his Ph.D. thesis, won the Albert J. Beveridge Award in 1972 given by the American Historical Association. The latter was a finalist in the Toronto Book Awards in 1986. His most recent work Liberal Dreams and Nature's Limits: Great North American Cities since 1600 was published in 1996. His time at the University was also spent in several administrative positions including Graduate Secretary in the Department of History (1968-1971 & 1979-1980), Member and intermittent Chair of the Urban Studies Programme Innis College (1973-1978) as well as Director of the Community Living Programme at Innis College from 1975-1978.
Throughout his career, Prof. Lemon was an active member of several professional associations including the Canadian Association of Geographers, the American Association of Geographers, the Institute of Early American History and Culture, and the Organization of American Historians. Prof. Lemon, who remains a community activist, was chairman of the Annex Residents' Association in 1973 and the Confederation of Resident and Ratepayer Associations which led the fight against the Spadina Expressway. In 1975, he ran for the New Democratic Party in the provincial election and from 1976-1978 served on the Toronto Board of Education.
James Lemon died at his home in Toronto on 31 January 2012.