A.A. den Otter (1941-2014) was Professor Emeritus of History at Memorial University, where he taught in the Department of History from 1972 to 2007 and served as department head from 1988 to 1994. His Civilizing the West: The Galts and the Development of Western Canada received the Canadian Historical Association, Regional History Certificate of Merit and his The Philosophy of Railways: The Transcontinental Railway Idea in British North America was awarded the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada's Harold Adams Innis Prize. He lived in St. John's, Newfoundland.