Marilyn Lake facts for kids

Marilyn Lake (born 5 January 1949) is a famous Australian historian. She studies how wars affect Australian society. She also writes about the history of women's rights in Australia. Marilyn Lake is known for her work on Australian history. This includes understanding past rules about who could live in Australia. She also writes about the fight for human rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

She has received many important awards for her work. These include being named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). She is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Early Life and Education

Marilyn Lee Calvert was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 5 January 1949. She married Sam Lake in 1968. They have two daughters together.

She loved studying history from a young age. She went to the University of Tasmania. There, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. She then completed her Honours thesis. This paper was about a newspaper called W.A. Wood's and the Clipper.

In 1973, she earned her Master of Arts degree. Her master's thesis was about Tasmanian society during World War I. This work later became her first book, A Divided Society, published in 1975.

Marilyn Lake continued her studies at Monash University. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1984. Her PhD research focused on soldier settlement in Victoria. This was about how soldiers were given land after the wars. Her doctoral thesis became a book called The Limits of Hope in 1987.

Career in History

Marilyn Lake started teaching history in 1986. She became a lecturer at The University of Melbourne.

In 1988, she moved to La Trobe University. She became a Senior Lecturer there. She also helped start the Women's Studies program. She was its first Director until 1994. In 1994, she became a full Professor of History at La Trobe University. This was a special honour called a Personal Chair in History.

She has also worked in other countries. In 1997, she was a Visiting Professor at Stockholm University in Sweden. From 2001 to 2002, she was the Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University in the United States.

From 2004 to 2008, she was an Australian Professorial Fellow. This is a special research position. She worked at La Trobe University during this time. In 2008, she was a research fellow at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre. This centre is located in Old Parliament House, Canberra.

In 2011, she received another important research fellowship. This allowed her to study the international history of Australian democracy. She looked at how Australian ideas, like voting rights for all men and women, influenced other countries. She also researched how Australia worked with international groups like the United Nations.

In 2019, a book was published in her honour. It was called Contesting Australian History. This book included papers from a special event celebrating her career.

Contributions and Awards

Marilyn Lake has been very active in the history community. She used to be the president of the Australian Historical Association. This is a big group for historians in Australia. She also helps with the Australian Women's History Forum.

She has been on the editorial boards of several important history journals. These include Labor History and Journal of Australian Studies. She also served on university councils. These included La Trobe University and Monash University.

She has received many awards for her important work. Here are some of them:

• 1985: The University of Melbourne Harbison-Higinbotham Prize.
• 1994: Human Rights Non-Fiction Award for her book Creating a Nation. She wrote this book with other historians.
• 1995: Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
• 1999: Elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
• 2002: Human Rights Arts Non-Fiction Award for her book Faith: a biography of Faith Bandler. This book was about a famous Aboriginal rights activist.
• 2003: Centenary Medal.
• 2008: Queensland Premier's History Book Award for Drawing the Global Colour Line. She wrote this with Henry Reynolds.
• 2009: Prime Minister's Literary Award for Drawing the Global Colour Line.
• 2009: The University of Melbourne Ernest Scott Prize for Drawing the Global Colour Line.
• 2018: Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). This was for her great service to education and history.
• 2019: Shortlisted for the NSW Premier's History Awards. This was for her book Progressive New World.

Major Books

Marilyn Lake has written or co-written many important books:

• A Divided Society (1975)
• Double Time: Women in Victoria 150 Years (1985)
• The Limits of Hope: Soldier Settlement in Victoria 1915–38 (1987)
• Australians at Work: Commentaries and Sources (1991)
• Creating a Nation (1994)
• Getting Equal: The History of Australian Feminism (1999)
• Faith Bandler Gentle Activist (2002)
• Connected Worlds: History in Transnational Perspective (2006)
• Memory, Monuments and Museums (2006)
• Drawing the Global Colour Line (2008) (with Henry Reynolds)
• What's Wrong with ANZAC? The Militarisation of Australian History (2010) (with Henry Reynolds)
• Progressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and Transpacific Exchange Shaped American Reform (2019)

See also

In Spanish: Marilyn Lake para niños