Albert L.E. Gastmann

Albert L. E. Gastmann, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, Trinity College, died on Thursday, February 1, 2007, peacefully, in his sleep, at his home in Hartford. He was 87 years old. Dr. Gastmann was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, on October 28, 1919, the son of Lodewijk A. Gastmann and Maria Petronella Uhlenbeck, and the brother of Pieter. He spent his childhood years living where his father, a Dutch ambassador, was posted, including Indonesia, Iran, Canada, Germany from where the family was permitted to leave following the outbreak of World War II, and the United States where his father served as Counsel General in New York City in the 1940s. He served in the Netherlands Armed Services during World War II, surviving a U-boat attack off the coast of Africa, and then at the Netherlands Embassy in Chungking, China. He returned to New York in after his tour of duty for medical care and to complete his college education at Columbia College, receiving his B.A. in 1949. He then taught school in Lima, Peru, and returned to Columbia for his M.A. in International Relations, which he was awarded in 1953. He started his teaching career at Trinity College at that time, initially as an instructor of modern languages. Dr. Gastmann was fluent in Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and English. He obtained his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1963, and became a full Professor of Political Science at Trinity in 1975, a position he held until his retirement in 1990. Dr. Gastmann also spent four years teaching in Curacao in the 1970s and a number of semesters teaching European and Third-World politics at Trinity's campus in Rome, Italy. He focused much of his scholarly work on international relations and the politics and history of the Caribbean. He was a founding member of the Caribbean Studies Association of the United States and a member of Pi Gamma Mu and Delta Phi Alpha honor societies. He is the author or co-author of many articles and books, including The Politics of Surinam and The Netherlands Antilles, Historical Dictionary of the French and Netherlands Antilles, and A History of Credit and Power in the Western World. He enjoyed teaching, and took a keen interest in his students, often traveling with them to far flung places and staying a part of their lives following graduation. Dr. Gastmann leaves behind relations in Paris, France, and many close friends and former students around the world. A memorial service will be held at the Trinity College Chapel at a date to be determined. Burial will be in The Hague, Netherlands. Memorial donations may be made to: Trustees of Trinity College, Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT, 06106, for the benefit of The Gastmann Fund for the Rome Campus.

Albert L.E. Gastmann

October 28, 1919 - February 1, 2007