Frank R. Shivers Research Papers

Frank R. Shivers, Jr. (1925-2021), was born in New Jersey. He enlisted in the Army in 1944 and was sent to Yale University to study Japanese under an Army Specialized Training Program. After the war during Allied Occupation of Japan, Shivers served in the Counter Intelligence Corps. Shivers returned to his studies at Yale University after his service in the Army and earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in English. He met his wife, Lottchen, in Cincinnati and the couple moved to Baltimore in 1951. By 1955, they had settled in the Bolton Hill neighborhood, where they stayed throughout their lives. In 1954, Shivers began working as the chair of the English Department at Friends school. He taught there until his retirement in 1980. He continued to teach until 1999 as an adjunct professor at Towson University, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and at Johns Hopkins University in its School of Professional Studies, Business and Education.

As a local historian and author, Shivers wrote four books and co-authored two additional books. Among his published works are: "Bolton Hill: Baltimore Classic," "Maryland Wits and Baltimore Bards," "Bolton Hill: Classic Baltimore Neighborhood: Blue Plaque Edition," "Walking in Baltimore", and "The Architecture of Baltimore" (co-authored with Mary Ellen Hayward). He was also active in local history organizations as a board member of Baltimore Heritage, the Peale Museum, the Flag House and the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.

Shivers was also a community activist who was a member of the Mount Royal Improvement Association and the Citizens Planning and Housing Association. He was also dedicated to the beautification of his neighborhood, Bolton Hill, and worked with neighbors on projects such as the Blue Plaques program, and planting gardens in the community. He passed away in 2021.

[Information for this Biographical note was gathered from the obituary, "Frank R. Shivers Jr., longtime Bolton Hill educator, writer and regional historian, dies" By Frederick N. Rasmussen in the Baltimore Sun, published, October 10, 2021].