Peter Michael Swan was born on October 4, 1931 in the village of Kennedy, Saskatchewan. He earned three degrees from the University of Saskatchewan: a B.A. Honours (1952), M.A. (1957), and B.Ed (1959). He completed a Ph.D. in Classical Philology from Harvard University in 1965. Dr. Swan became a permanent faculty member of the University of Saskatchewan in 1962. He held a variety of administrative posts and played an important role in the creation of the University's Museum of Antiquities. Dr. Swan served as the Assistant Dean of Arts and Science, Acting Head of the Departments of Art, Classics/Greek and Roman Studies, and Modern Languages and as the Director of the Learned Society Conference, University Studies Group and Undergraduate Programs and Students in the Department of History. His scholarly specialties are the early Roman Empire, in particular the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero (31 B.C. - A.D. 68), and the Roman historian Cassius Dio, on whom he has written various articles and edited two books. In 2004, his book, "The Augustan Succession", was published by Oxford University Press. Dr Swan was honoured by the University of Saskatchewan at its 1989 Spring Convocation with the Master Teacher Award. He was named Professor Emeritus of History upon his retirement in 1999.