John L. Gillin was born in Hudson, Iowa, on October 12, 1871, the son of Samuel B. and Anna L. Gillin. He received his A.B. degree from Grinnell College in 1895, and his B.D. from Union Theological Seminary in 1904, his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1906, and his LL.D. from Grinnell College in 1930.
From 1905 to 1907, Mr. Gillin was professor of the social sciences and President of Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio. He served as associate professor and professor of economics and sociology at the University of Iowa, 1907-1912. From 1912 to 1942, Professor Gillin was associate professor, professor, and chairman in the department of sociology and anthropology at the University of Wisconsin. After nine years of active retirement, Professor Gillin rejoined the University of Wisconsin faculty in 1951 to teach seminars under a special program, and also took an active interest in programs for the aged. In addition to these academic posts, Professor Gillin served as Director of Civilian Relief in the Central Division of the American Red Cross, 1918-1919; as Chairman of the Research Committee of the American Sociological Society, 1918-1923; as National Director of Education for the American Red Cross, 1921-1922; as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Crime of the Social Science Research Council, 1925-1928; as President of the American Sociological Society, 1926-1927; and as a member of the State of Wisconsin Pardon Board, 1936-1938. Professor Gillin was also a member of many welfare and charitable organizations in Wisconsin.
Among Mr. Gillin's publications are: Outlines of Sociology, 1915; Poverty and Dependency, 1921; Criminology and Penology, 1925; Taming the Criminal, 1931; Social Pathology, 1933; and The Wisconsin Prisoner, 1936. He also contributed many articles to journals of sociology and criminology, and engaged in researches and surveys. Professor Gillin studied penal systems in other parts of the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.
Mr. Gillin married Etta Shaffner in 1897. She died in 1944, leaving her husband and one son, John P. Gillin, now Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1946, Professor Gillin married Mary W. McCutcheon. He died in 1958 at the age of 87.
