Russell M. Magnaghi was born in 1943 in San Francisco, where he was raised in an Italian-American community. After graduating from the University of San Francisco in 1965, he attended Saint Louis University, completing his master’s degree in 1967 and his Ph.D in 1970. In 1969, he became part of the faculty of the Department of History at Northern Michigan University (NMU), where he has remained for the entirety of his professional career. Magnaghi’s research interests are varied in nature and encompass such topics as Latin American history, comparative history of the Americas, and the history of American indigenous peoples. He is perhaps best known for his extensive work on Italians in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a topic that first commanded his research interests in the early 1980s.

Magnaghi has been an active participant in local history causes and projects, the prolific author of more than 200 monographs and articles, and a presenter on scores of radio programs and conferences. He assumed the responsibility of co-editor of the “Discovery the Peoples of Michigan” series, a publication of Michigan State University Press, in 2003. In addition, he has served as the University Historian at NMU, the Director of the Center for Upper Peninsula Studies, and interim head of NMU’s Department of History and Department of Philosophy.