Robert "Bert" S. Kenny (2 February 1905 – 28 September 1993) was a member of the Communist Party of Canada, and a collector of books, documents, and other materials pertaining to the radical and labour movements, particularly in Canada.
Kenny was born of Irish descent in Lindsay, Ontario. He graduated in Toronto from Riverdale Collegiate Institute and later lived and worked in Cleveland and Montréal before returning to Toronto. By the 1950s, he was well-known as a bibliophile with a special interest in collecting materials on communism and other radical and revolutionary movements.
His collection of approximately 25,000 items, the Robert S. Kenny Collection, is held in the University of Toronto Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. For several years, the Robert S. Kenny Prize in Marxist & Labour/Left Studies was awarded in his honour.
References
- ^ Dondertman, Anne; Purdy, Sean (November 4, 1998). "The Robert S. Kenny Collection on Communism and Radicalism at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto". Labor History. 39 (4): 397–405. doi:10.1080/00236679812331387474.
- "Notebook/Carnet". Labour/Le Travail. 33: 377–379. 1994. JSTOR 25143835.
- Purdy, Sean (1998). Radicals and Revolutionaries: The History of Canadian Communism from the Robert S. Kenny Collection. Toronto: University of Toronto Library. ISBN 0772760268.
- "Bulletin No. 7 News Letter, December, 1951 – Labour Productions" (PDF). Toronto: La Société bibliographique du Canada – Bibliographical Society of Canada. December 25, 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- "History, Politics and Economics". Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. University of Toronto. October 15, 1996. Archived from the original on 2 September 2000. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- "Kenny Prize and Lecture".