Michael H. Kater

The recorded working language is English and German. The field of work recorded is history, sociology and music. Places of work recorded in the authority are Toronto. Distinctions recorded are Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Guggenheim Fellowship and Jason A.

Kater was born on 4 July 1937 in Zittau, and moved to Canada in his teens. He graduated from St. Michael's College School in Toronto and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Toronto. After studying at LMU Munich and Heidelberg University, he completed his PhD in 1966.

After working as a lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park, from 1965 to 1966, Kater spent the remainder of his career at York University, where he was an assistant professor from 1967 to 1970, associate professor from 1970 to 1973, professor from 1973 to 1991, and distinguished research professor from 1991 until becoming emeritus. From 1985 to 1986, he was Jason A. Hannah Visiting Professor of the History of Medicine at McMaster University, and in the 1990s, he was a visiting professor at the University of Toronto. Kater was also a jazz musician and music historian.

Kater died on 17 November 2025, at the age of 88.

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Kater was a past recipient of fellowships including the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Canada Council Senior Killam Fellowship. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1988 and in 1990 won the Konrad Adenauer Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. His book Doctors Under Hitler won the Royal Society of Canada's Jason A. Hannah Medal in 1991.