Arizona historian and author Jack August has died at age 63. He was known for his work on water policy, but especially on the history of the West.

August had “a gift for storytelling that brought the state’s history to life,” said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, describing the beloved historian who died Friday after previously falling ill.

Last year, August was named historian and director of Institutional Advancement at the Arizona Capitol Museum in the State Library. He was a former executive director at the Arizona Historical Foundation at Arizona State University. August wrote on such subjects as water politics in the Southwest and the lives of Gov.  Raul Castro and U.S. Sen. Carl Hayden.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.