Archives West Finding Aid

John Fahey (1919 - 2004) was a prolific author on Pacific Northwest history (specifically, Inland Northwest history). He covered topics such as "mines, Indian tribes, settlers and numerous regional characters in magazines and books." As of 2004, Fahey had sold over 11,000 copies of his many books, some of which were published by University of Washington.

Fahey was born in Spokane, Washington and graduated from Gonzaga Prep, Gonzaga University, and Northwestern University. He also worked as a news editor for NBC in Chicago while attending school. He also served in WWII on an "Armyu program to expose German prisoners of war to democracy."

Fahey began his teaching and publishing career by 1949 when he "began teaching journalism at Gonzaga University." He later went on to work at Eastern Washington University in multiple capacities.

"Fahey went on to produce books about the Flathead Indians of the Salish and Kootenai, the Kalispel and Coeur d'Alene Indian leader Joe Garry. In 1970, while Fahey was researching the Flathead Indians, he told The Spokesman-Review that most Indian history 'has been written by white men talking to other white men in a language derived from European culture.'" Fahey contributed much invaluable research to the Eastern Washington Historical Society and Washington State Historical Society.

For a more detailed biography: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2004/jul/16/regional-historian-journalist-teacher-john-fahey/