Remembering Michael Sherman (1944-2025)

We are sad to report the passing of historian and former VHS Executive Director Michael Sherman. He was an enormous figure in the world of Vermont history, and for decades played a major role in the scholarship, organization, and study of the field. He was 81 years old.

Michael was VHS’s Executive Director from 1985 to 1995 and remained as editor of our scholarly journal, Vermont History until his passing. In 2004, he co-authored (with Gene Sessions and Jeffrey Potash) Freedom and Unity: A History of Vermont, and was the author of numerous books and articles that explored and enriched our understanding of our state’s story.

Beyond VHS, he was a professor of Liberal Studies in the Adult Degree Program of Vermont College of Norwich University / Union Institute & University from 1996 to 2006 and was the Academic Dean of Burlington College in Burlington from 2006 to 2008.