Frederic C. Lane (born November 23, 1900, in Lansing, Michigan – October 14, 1984) was an American historian who specialized in Medieval history with a particular emphasis on the region of Venice.
from Tufts College in 1922, where he wrote a master's thesis on "The economic history of Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century",[1] and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1930 with a doctoral thesis on "Venetian Ships and Shipbuilders of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.
While a Harvard graduate student he was John Thornton Kirkland Fellow for Research in Italy in 1927–1928.
His research on the city as a maritime trading center, particularly with his research in economic history, helped establish a standard for examining the development and growth of other Italian city-states.
From 1951–1954, he was assistant director at the Social Science division, Rockefeller Foundation, and advised on European policy.