This fund was established in 1990 by John R. and Martha Kirkland, in memory of John K. Mahon, to support the faculty award to recognize distinguished teaching in the undergraduate program in History.

Mahon was born February 8, 1912, in Ottumwa, IA. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Swarthmore College in 1954 and a doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles. Mahon served in the U.S. Army during WWII, where he was the army’s chief of military history from 1952-54. He moved to Gainesville in 1954 to teach at the University of Florida.

At UF, Mahon wrote or co-wrote several books and articles. He was promoted to department chairman in 1965 and retired in 1982. Mahon was active in various social and environmental issues including Alachua Audubon Society, Florida Defenders of the Environment, the Sierra Club and Alachua Conservation Trust. He was a past president of the Florida Historical Society and a board member for the Seminole Wars Historic Foundation.

John and his wife of 54 years, Enid, had one son, John K. Mahon III. Enid passed away on November 1, 2002 and John passed away on October 11, 2003.