Paul Dorpat

Paul Dorpat, 87, died on May 27, 2026. Paul Dorpat was known publicly as an American historian. He had a weekly column in the Seattle Times and was the principal historian of HistoryLink.org, a site devoted to Washington state history. Dorpat was a key figure of Seattle's first underground newspaper, the Helix, which was published from March 23, 1967, until June 11, 1970. Dorpat's Times column "Now & Then" ran weekly from January 17, 1982, to December 20, 2019, totaling about 1,800 articles. Each week the column paired a historical photo of Seattle with a present-day photo from an identical or similar point of view. He also wrote numerous books about Seattle. Public biographical listings identify Dorpat as an American historian. This public record remains centered on Dorpat's work as an American historian and the documented milestones of that career.