Lloyd Ultan is a human archive. He is filled with stories of the place where he has spent his whole life.

“The history of the Bronx was the history of the nation in microcosm,” he said.

Ultan served as the Bronx borough historian for almost three decades. His penchant for the past started early.

“When I was a toddler, I was always asking people older than I am ‘What happened before I was born?’” Ultan said.

Ultan studied history at Hunter College when it was in the Bronx. But there was still something missing.

“I knew absolutely nothing about the history of the Bronx,” he said.

That is how Ultan’s relationship with the Bronx County Historical Society began. He soon became an authority on all things involving the borough.

“I got a call from the Office of the Borough President, who then was Fernando Ferrer,” Ultan said. “And he said ‘Would you be interested in becoming the borough historian?’ And I said ‘Wait a secon- yes.’”

Ultan was sworn into his position in 1996.

He has led tours, spoken at senior homes and provided historical background for media stories. It has all been for free.

“If we are to understand ourselves and the society in which we live, we have to understand what comes before us,” Ultan said.

Ultan helped launch the first Bronx Week celebration in 1971. He has written almost a dozen books about his beloved borough.

“This is a legacy that I have left behind that people can still consult,” he said.

Ultan passed on the reins to one of his former students earlier this month. He plans to stick around in an emeritus role, always available to regale anyone who’s interested in the borough’s history.

“The need to preserve those treasures and also to build upon the history of the Bronx so we advance further,” he said of his motive to share the Bronx’s past.

For safeguarding the story of the Bronx and helping to document its newest chapters, Lloyd Ultan is our New Yorker of the Week.