After a brief illness, Theo died on Jan. 22, 2000, in Worcester, Mass., where, until he retired in 1983, he had been teaching at Clark U. He earned his PhD in history at Princeton and taught there for a year, then moved on to the U. of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, the U. of California, and finally Clark.
An immigrant from Germany, Theo arrived on campus in the fall of 1937. He credited Princeton with giving him an excellent introduction to the best qualities of American life at the peak of American influence in the world. He especially remembered the kindness he encountered in the history department. He always felt being a self-styled immigrant outsider gave him a unique insight into the dynamics of contemporary world events. This perspective he fully expounded in his major book, The World Revolution of Westernization, published in 1988. A member of the Society of Friends, he worked in various aspects of the peace movement, particularly in organizations dedicated to the improvement of US/USSR relations.
Theo is survived by his wife, Angela Turner Von Laue, two daughters from his first marriage, Madeleine and Esther, and one grandchild. We offer them our sincere sympathy.
The Class of 1939