Princeton University Professor Emeritus Paul Sigmund Dies at 85

Paul E. Sigmund, husband of the former Princeton Borough mayor Barbara Sigmund, died this morning at the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro due to complications from pneumonia, family friends confirmed. He was 85.

Sigmund was a professor of politics at Princeton University. His scholarship focused on political theory and comparative politics. He wrote numerous books and articles on Latin American politics with a focus on income inequality, multinationals and the military. He is the author of “The Ideologies of the Developing Nations”, “Natural Law in Political Thought, The Overthrow of Allende and the Politics of Chile, 1974-1976,” and “Liberation Theology at the Crossroads.” He was the translator and editor of the Norton Critical Edition of “St. Thomas Aquinas on Politics and Ethics.” He also co-authored several other books.

He began teaching at Princeton in 1963 and helped found the school’s program in Latin American Studies. He served as the program director for seven years. He was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars and the Institute for Advanced Study, and received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

He served on the boards of Georgetown University and the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, and was an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2001 he was the first American academic to receive the Bernardo O’Higgins Order of Merit, awarded by the Chilean government for outstanding accomplishment.

Sigmund earned his doctorate from Harvard University, where he taught for four years before coming to Princeton. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.

He is survived by his sons Stephen, David, and Paul IV; two brother; two sisters; and four grandchildren.

Visitation is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, 1200 Stuart Rd., in Princeton.  the Funeral Mass  is at 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Princeton University Chapel. The burial is at the Princeton Cemetery.

Donations may be sent to www.handstogether.org. Condolences may be offered to the family at https://thekimblefuneralhome.com.

A visitation was set from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, 1200 Stuart Rd., Princeton. A Funeral Mass was set for 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Princeton University Chapel. Burial is to be in Princeton Cemetery.
Read more at https://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20140429_Paul_E__Sigmund__85__professor_at_Princeton.html#EYfQbPI5ak8xql4d.99
A visitation was set from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, 1200 Stuart Rd., Princeton. A Funeral Mass was set for 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Princeton University Chapel. Burial is to be in Princeton Cemetery.
Read more at https://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20140429_Paul_E__Sigmund__85__professor_at_Princeton.html#EYfQbPI5ak8xql4d.99
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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.

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