Francis J. Bremer

Frank Bremer, pictured with his Beagles Peanut and Gussie in one of the attached pictures, was born and raised in New York City, where he attended Xavier High School, Fordham College (BA), and Columbia University (MA, PhD). His interest in history was fed by summer vacations in New England and he became interested in religious ideas in a Fordham theology class -- the combination, a fascination with puritans and puritanism that has not flagged in forty years. His particular interest is in placing the study of New England puritanism in a broader Atlantic context.

It was while at Fordham that he met and wed (1968) his wife Barbara. The couple have three daughters (Heather, Kristin, and Megan) and eight grandchildren. His oldest grandson, Keegan Bremer, took the jacket photo for John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father, and both Keegan and Taylor Christo provided useful suggestions to the manuscript for John Winthrop: Biography as History.

Frank's first full-time teaching position was at Thomas More College, in Northern Kentucky. He has been a member of the History Department at Millersville University of Pennsylvania since 1977. He has also taught as a visiting scholar at New York University, Oxford University, and Cambridge University. He recently held a visiting fellowship at Trinity College, Dublin.

An avid Boston Red Sox fan, Frank has been involved for much of his life coaching youth sports, particularly softball and baseball. He and Barbara, who teaches Health Psychology at Penn State University's Harrisburg campus, enjoy travel and the theatre. He retired from teaching in June 2011, but continues to explore the complexities of seventeenth century religion.