Spiro Kostof (1936-1991) was Professor of Architectural History at the University of California at Berkeley, President of the Society for Architectural Historians, and author of the pioneering work, A History of Architecture, Settings and Rituals. He hosted the 5-part television series "America by Design." He also wrote The City Shaped, Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History (1991), The City Assembled, The Elements of Urban Form Through History (co-authored with Greg Castillo, 1992), and edited The Architect, Chapters in the History of the Profession (1977).