Eric A. Arnold Jr. was, formally, a professor of French history. His love of history and culture, however, extended to Colorado, southwestern railroads, the Denver Broncos, and classical music and opera.

Mr. Arnold, 68, died Aug. 6 of acute pneumonia.

Mr. Arnold, born Dec. 4, 1939, in Cleveland, joined the University of Denver faculty in 1969 after obtaining an undergraduate degree at Oberlin College and a doctorate from Columbia University. He retired in 2006.

His published work focused on the history of Napoleonic France, and he was an original member of the Western Society for French History. In the classroom, he sometimes dressed for his lectures in early 20th-century French military uniforms.

But, his love of history was not limited to Europe. It extended to Colorado and the southwestern U.S., which he grew to love after his arrival.

"I often heard him say that before he got his job, if you'd told him he'd live west of the Mississippi, he never would have believed it," said his son, Dan Arnold, an assistant professor in the divinity school at the University of Chicago. "He came here because of the vicissitudes of the academic job market."

Dan Arnold said his father, a fan of classical music and opera, used a conductor's baton while listening to music "instead of playing air guitar."

"He had a real passion for music, especially those works that reflected aspects of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution," said Anne Culver, former director of DU's Lamont School of Music. "Two of his favorite works were Mozart's opera Don Giovanni and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. Outside the school of music, he was one of the most ardent music enthusiasts around."

He was a nearly annual visitor at the Santa Fe Opera and an avid train buff who frequently rode the Georgetown Loop and the Cumbres & Toltec along the Colorado-New Mexico border.

Dan Arnold said his father, an "ardent Democrat," was "usually up for a most spirited conversation about politics." He and his brothers, Chris and Brian, "grew up with a love of learning, a love of conversation, a love of books," and all went into education or communication. Chris is the director of public relations for Chipotle Mexican Grill in Denver, and Brian is an assistant professor of photography at Alfred University in upstate New York.

Mr. Arnold is survived by wife Kathy Arnold and former wife Barbara (Cobourn) Arnold; his three sons; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be today at 3 p.m. at the chapel of the Iliff School of Theology on the University of Denver campus. Memorial contributions can be made to the library of his alma matter, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio.