Robert Henry Irrmann, 81, a Wisconsin historian and longtime professor of history at Beloit College, died July 16 at University Hospital in Madison, Wis. Mr. Irrmann, a native of Chicago, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Beloit College in 1939. He received his master’s degree from Harvard University and his doctorate in history from Indiana University. He taught at Denison College until 1948 then returned to Beloit College. He retired in 1980. Once called the “ideal professor” by former Beloit President Martha Peterson, Mr. Irrmann was a favorite among students and possessed incredible knowledge on the British monarchy and constitutional history. “The classroom works like a stimulant for me,” said Mr. Irrmann in a June 22, 1980, article in the Chicago Tribune Magazine. For 19 years, Mr. Irrmann served as chair of Beloit’s history department. He was secretary of the faculty for 10 years and twice was voted teacher of the year. After his formal retirement, Mr. Irrmann occasionally taught courses and remained active as college archivist. He also wrote the history of the First National Bank of Beloit. Mr. Irrmann served on the boards of the Beloit Historical Society and the Rock County Historical Society and chaired the Wisconsin Historic Preservation Review Board. A self-proclaimed “perpetual student and mendicant goliard,” Mr. Irrmann said in the Tribune interview: “I figure that I’ve led a very full, active, satisfying teaching life . . . Whatever I die of, it won’t be boredom.” Survivors include a niece and five great-nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 20 in Eaton Chapel on the Beloit College campus.
