Brison D. Gooch

Brison D. Gooch (March 1, 1925 – November 25, 2014) was an American historian specializing in 19th century European history, especially Belgium and France. He was author of numerous monographs, and especially wrote undergraduate oriented textbooks.

Born in Bar Harbor, Maine, his father Austin McLellan Gooch was a carpenter. His mother Clara Helen Dowling Gooch cared for their six children, including his brother Alden Gooch. He was educated at local public schools. Gooch served in the U.S. Army in Germany and Belgium from 1945 to 1947; he attended the Nuremberg trials in 1945–1946. He took a bachelor's degree in history and philosophy from Miami University (Ohio) in 1949 and a master's degree in history from the University of Wisconsin in 1950. He finished with a PhD in history from Wisconsin in 1955. He taught as instructor and assistant professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1954 to 1960. He taught as an associate and full professor at the University of Oklahoma 1960–1969. He was professor from 1973 to 1990 at the history department of Texas A&M University. He worked to reform the curriculum and expand graduate efforts as history department head at the University of Connecticut from 1969 to 1973 and at Texas A&M from 1973 to 1975. He held a visiting appointment at Yale University, and was a Fulbright scholar in Belgium.