Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Harry W. Fritz is Professor of History and Chairman of the Department of History at The University of Montana in Missoula. After obtaining his B.A. from Dartmouth College he attended The University of Montana and Washington University in St. Louis for his M.A. and Ph.D., respectively. Professor Fritz teaches courses in early American history, American military history, and Montana history. He was named University of Montana's Teacher of the Year in 1972 and 1999 and the Carnegie Foundation's Montana Professor of the Year in 2004. He has written and lectured widely on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and is the author of The Lewis and Clark Expedition (Greenwood 2004) and Montana: Land of Contrast (1984, 2001). Harry is also the co-editor of Montana and the West (1984), The Montana Heritage (1992), and The Montana Legacy (2002). In 1985 and 1987, he served in the Montana House of Representatives, which was followed by service in the Montana Senate in 1991 and 1993.