# John Paul Gerber > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Paul_Gerber > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Paul_Gerber.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Gerber > Source revision: 1305811296 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American motorcycle rider}} '''John Paul Gerber''' (February 12, 1945 – June 12, 2010) was an American [author](/source/author), [historian](/source/historian), [librarian](/source/librarian), and sportsperson. == Personal life == Gerber was born in [Sioux Falls](/source/Sioux_Falls%2C_South_Dakota), [South Dakota](/source/South_Dakota), the eldest of 5 children born to John and Millie Gerber. As a youth his family moved to in [Stillwater](/source/Stillwater%2C_Oklahoma), [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma), then during his teens in [Menomonie](/source/Menomonie%2C_Wisconsin), [Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin). Gerber earned a B.A. in history from the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota), a PhD in history from the [University of Wisconsin](/source/University_of_Wisconsin), and an [MLS](/source/Master_of_Library_and_Information_Science) from [Simmons College](/source/Simmons_College_(Massachusetts)). He spent much of his professional career as an archivist at [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School) and a medical librarian for the Boston Healthcare System.{{Citation |title= John Gerber (obituary) |url= http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=john-gerber&pid=143970625&fhid=4541 |newspaper= [Boston Globe](/source/Boston_Globe) |date= 8 July 2010 |access-date= 2011-05-29 }} == Scootering == Gerber had a passion for European [motorscooters](/source/motorscooters), such as [Vespa](/source/Vespa)s, [Lambretta](/source/Lambretta), and [Heinkels](/source/Heinkel), owning dozens of various scooters, putting over 412,000 miles riding his bikes on 5 continents,{{cite web|author=April Whitney|url=https://justscoot.blogspot.com/2010/06/farewell-john-gerber.html|date=2010-06-17|title=Farewell, John Gerber}} and according to the ''[Boston Globe](/source/Boston_Globe)'' was "the world's foremost historian on the development, manufacture and spread of motor scooters as a practical means of everyday and leisure transportation."{{Citation |title= The Gentle Cycle; With their quirkey charm, scooters prove that bigger isn't always better {{sic}} |first= Patti |last= Doten |newspaper= [Boston Globe](/source/Boston_Globe) |date= 11 September 1999 |page= F.1}} Gerber rode his first bike at age 14 and by 21 he had ridden almost 40,000 miles traveling around the US and Canada. In 1966 he embarked on the first of his [epic rides](/source/List_of_long-distance_motorcycle_riders) going {{Convert|11000|mi|abbr=on}} from Minnesota to Panama and back on a Vespa GS 160.{{cite web|url=https://scootouring.blogspot.com/|author=John Gerber|date=2010-08-10|title=John Gerber's adventures in scootering}} In 1971, he completed a {{Convert|25000|mi|abbr=on}} solo trip on his Vespa motor scooter from [Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin) down the east coast of [South America](/source/South_America) to the [Tierra del Fuego](/source/Tierra_del_Fuego). He returned up the west coast and was on his way to Alaska when the trip was cut short by a car totaling his scooter in [Hayward](/source/Hayward%2C_California), [California](/source/California). In the late 1970s Gerber shipped a Vespa Rally from [London](/source/London) to [Singapore](/source/Singapore) so he could ride the bike back the {{Convert|20000|mi|abbr=on}} to London.{{cite news|title=An American Story|author=John Gerber|issue=Winter 2004/5|page=209}}{{cite journal|title=318 bend in just 11 miles|author=Norrie Kerr|publisher=Scooter Trade & Industry|date=October 2008|page=6}}{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jul/26/chattanooga-meep-meep-scooter-lovers-embrace-goofi/?local|title='Meep-meep': Scooter lovers embrace the goofiness|publisher=[Chattanooga Times Free-Press](/source/Chattanooga_Times_Free-Press)|author=Elizabeth Ryan|date=2008-07-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011132627/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jul/26/chattanooga-meep-meep-scooter-lovers-embrace-goofi/?local|archive-date=2012-10-11}}{{Citation|title= Vintage Italian motor scooters are hot items |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HREiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5XIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1562,3577963&hl=en |last= Sloan |first= Karen |publisher= [Columbia News Service](/source/Columbia_News_Service) |newspaper= [The Day (New London)](/source/The_Day_(New_London)) |location= [New London, Connecticut](/source/New_London%2C_Connecticut) |date= 18 July 2005 |page= E5 |access-date= 2011-05-29 }} ==Death== Gerber died on June 10, 2010, in [Quincy, Massachusetts](/source/Quincy%2C_Massachusetts), aged 65, from [pancreatic cancer](/source/pancreatic_cancer).{{cite web|url=http://www.scootering.com/news/john-gerber-rip|title=John Gerber RIP|author=Norrie Kerr|date=2010-06-29|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202112841/http://www.scootering.com/news/john-gerber-rip|archive-date=2013-02-02}} ==Books== * John Paul Gerber. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=WSDK3lyJGbIC&dq=inauthor:%22John+Paul+Gerber%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s|Anton Pannekoek and the socialism of workers' self-emancipation, 1873-1960]'', Springer, New York, 1989. 250 pages {{oclc|9780792302742}} * John Paul Gerber. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=K_9PAAAAMAAJ Militants against the apparatus: the Communist opposition in France, 1923-1932]'', University of Wisconsin, Madison 1973. 412 pages ==Articles== * ''An American Story'' by John Gerber, [http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550252.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215329/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550252.pdf |date=2012-03-10 }}, Winter 2004/5 * ''Weird and Wonderful No. 1: The AMI'' by John Gerber, [http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550259.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215345/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550259.pdf |date=2012-03-10 }}, Autumn 2006 * ''Weird and Wonderful No. 2: The Harley Davidson Brezza'' by John Gerber, [http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550260.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215359/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550260.pdf |date=2012-03-10 }}, Winter 2006/7 * ''Weird and Wonderful: The NSU Maxima'' by John Gerber, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215411/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550301.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal], Spring 2007 * ''Weird and Wonderful: The Csepel Tunde'' by John Gerber, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215437/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550309.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal], Summer 2007 * ''[Larry Hagman](/source/Larry_Hagman): Greenwich Village Bohemian and Vespa enthusiast'' by John Gerber, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215526/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550825.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal], Summer 2009 * ''Weird and Wonderful: The Swiss Army Vespa'' by John Gerber, [http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550928.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215713/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/550928.pdf |date=2012-03-10 }}, Autumn 2009 * ''The sorry tale of the demise of the Hoffmann Vespa'' by John Gerber, [http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/551409.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215743/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/551409.pdf |date=2012-03-10 }}, Winter 2010/11 * ''Hans Stuck and Vespa'' by John Gerber, [http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/551511.pdf Veteran Vespa Club Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310215809/http://www.veteranvespaclub.com/photos/551511.pdf |date=2012-03-10 }}, Spring 2011 == References == {{Reflist|2}} {{Long distance motorcycling}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerber, John}} Category:Long-distance motorcycle riders Category:People from Sioux Falls, South Dakota Category:Writers from Boston Category:University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Category: University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Category:1945 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Sportspeople from Stillwater, Oklahoma Category:People from Menomonie, Wisconsin Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Massachusetts Category:Librarians from South Dakota --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Paul Gerber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Gerber) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Gerber?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.