Franklin Ford, 82; Dean at Harvard During Student Unrest in 1960s

Franklin Ford, 82, a Harvard University historian and dean of the faculty of arts and sciences when student protesters stormed the campus’ main administration building in the late 1960s, died Sunday in Lexington, Mass. He had been in poor health following a stroke.

A native of Waukegan, Ill., who was educated at the University of Minnesota and Harvard, he was a scholar of modern German history and 17th century French history. After World War II, when he served with the Office of Special Services, the predecessor of the CIA, he taught for several years at Bennington College before launching a four-decade career at Harvard.

He earned tenure at Harvard in 1956 and became dean of the faculty of arts and sciences in 1962. Over the next eight years, he helped reshape undergraduate studies and oversaw the construction of the university science center.

On April 9, 1969, he was among nine deans who were ousted from their offices by about 300 students protesting the Vietnam War and university policies. He took a strong stand against the protesters, playing a role in the decision to call in the police the next day to break up the demonstration.

He wrote several books, the last of which was “Political Murder: From Tyrannicide to Terrorism,” a history of political murders from ancient times to the late 20th century.