Frederic Chapin Lane was a professor of history at Johns Hopkins and a leading scholar of the Italian Renaissance. The papers span the years 1943-1984 during which he was teaching at Johns Hopkins and conducting extensive research for his writings on the history of Venice in the 14th and 15th centuries.

John Higham was a historian and professor at Johns Hopkins University with a principal field of interest in American social and intellectual history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection consists of holographic course notes, outlines, examination booklets, and other assignments completed during his undergraduate years at The Johns Hopkins University, 1937-1939, as well as material relating to Dr. Higham's teaching and writing career.

Robert Forster was a professor in the Johns Hopkins History Department for almost 50 years, where he became renowned for his work on the history of early modern France. These are the professional papers of Forster dating from 1946-2003, including, but not limited to, research notes, typed drafts of his writings, correspondence, and teaching materials.