Horner was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 12 March 1948.[1] He was raised in a military household—his father, Murray Horner, had served in New Guinea during the Second World War. Like Murray, David Horner attended Prince Alfred College.[2] Horner was a prefect and served on numerous committees including the yearbook, debating, cadets, and student christian movement.[3]
Horner has a Diploma of Military Studies from Duntroon, a Master of Arts (Honours) from the University of New South Wales, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy from the ANU in 1980. His doctoral thesis, supervised by Robert O'Neill and completed while a serving major in the army, concerned Australian and Allied strategy in the Pacific War and formed the basis for his second book, High Command: Australia and Allied Strategy, 1939–1945 (1982).[7][8]
Historian and academicedit
Horner was appointed to a position at the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in 1990.[4] In 1998 he was described as "one of Australia's most respected military historians",[9] and in 1999 was made Professor of Australian Defence History at the ANU's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (later the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs);[10] a role he served in until 2014.[7]
Horner has written or edited 32 books and more than 75 journal articles, reports and chapters in books.[5] In 2009, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his "service to higher education in the area of Australian military history and heritage as a researcher, author and academic."[5] Horner retired from full-time academia in 2014, and was appointed an emeritus professor at the ANU.[10] He was made a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2015.[7]
Bibliographyedit
Booksedit
— (1978). Crisis of Command: Australian Generalship and the Japanese Threat, 1941–1943. Canberra: Australian National University Press. ISBN 9780708113455.
— (1982). High Command: Australia and Allied Strategy, 1939–1945. Sydney: George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780868610764.
— (1991). SAS Phantoms of the Jungle: A History of the Australian Special Air Service. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781863730075.
— (1992). General Vasey's War. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522844627.
— (1992). The Gulf Commitment: The Australian Defence Force's First War. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0522845118.
— (1995). The Gunners: A History of Australian Artillery. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781863739177.
— (1996). Inside the War Cabinet: Directing Australia's War Effort, 1939–1945. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1863739689.
—; Ball, Desmond (1998). Breaking the Codes: Australia's KGB Network. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781864485783.
— (1998). Blamey: The Commander-in-Chief. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781864487343.
— (2000). Defence Supremo: Sir Frederick Shedden and the Making of Australian Defence Policy. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1865082806.
— (2001). Making the Australian Defence Force. The Australian Centenary History of Defence. Vol. 4. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195541175.
— (2002). The Pacific. Second World War. Vol. 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1841762296.
— (2005). Strategic Command: General Sir John Wilton and Australia's Asian Wars. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195552829.
—; Thomas, Neil (2009). In Action with the SAS. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781741755527.
— (2011). Australia's Military History for Dummies. Milton, Queensland: Wiley Publishing Australia. ISBN 9781742169835.
—; Connor, John (2014). The Good International Citizen: Australian Peacekeeping in Asia, Africa and Europe 1991–1993. Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations. Vol. 3. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107021624.
— (2014). The Spy Catchers. The Official History of ASIO. Vol. 1. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781743319666.
—; Bou, Jean; Breen, Bob; Pratten, Garth; de Vogel, Miesje (2018). The Limits of Peacekeeping: Australian Missions in Africa and the Americas, 1992–2005. Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations. Vol. 4. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107101968.
— (2022). The War Game: Australian War Leadership from Gallipoli to Iraq. Crows Nest, New South wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76106-595-8.
Edited booksedit
—; O'Neill, Robert, eds. (1981). New Directions in Strategic Thinking. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0043550134.
—; O'Neill, Robert, eds. (1982). Australian Defence Policy for the 1980s. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702217816.
—, ed. (1984). The Commanders: Australian Military Leadership in the Twentieth Century. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780868614960.
—, ed. (1986). Australian Higher Command in the Vietnam War. Canberra: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. ISBN 0867848936.
—, ed. (1990). Duty First: The Royal Australian Regiment in War and Peace. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780044422273.
—; Bou, Jean, eds. (2008). Duty First: A History of the Royal Australian Regiment (2nd ed.). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780044422273.
—, ed. (1991). Reshaping the Australian Army: Challenges for the 1990s. Canberra: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. ISBN 0731511921.
—; Ball, Desmond, eds. (1992). Strategic Studies in a Changing World: Global, Regional and Australian Perspectives. Canberra: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. ISBN 0731513711.
—; Penglase, Joanna, eds. (1992). When the War Came to Australia: Memories of the Second World War. St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1863733205.
—, ed. (1993). The Army and the Future: Land Forces in Australia and South-East Asia. Canberra: Directorate of Departmental Publications, Defence Centre for Director of Army Activities and Public Affairs. ISBN 0644290048.
—, ed. (1994). The Battles That Shaped Australia: The Australian's Anniversary Essays. The Australian Series. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781863737043.
—, ed. (1995). Armies and Nation-Building: Past Experience – Future Prospects. Canberra: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. ISBN 0731523008.
—, ed. (2002). SAS Phantoms of War: A History of the Special Air Service. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781865086477.
—, ed. (2004). Australia's Strategic Involvement in the Middle East: An Overview. Abu Dhabi: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. ISBN 9789948006657.
—; Londey, Peter; Bou, Jean, eds. (2009). Australian Peacekeeping: Sixty Years in the Field. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521516068.
Referencesedit
Citationsedit
^ ab"Horner, David Murray". Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
^Prince Alfred College, "Professor David Horner", https://pac.edu.au/community/princes-men-gallery/professor-david-horner/
^Prince Alfred College chronicle, years 1961-1965, https://pac.edu.au/news-events/publications/pac-chronicle/
^ abcSygall, David (17 January 2009). "Spies like us". The Sun-Herald.
^ abc"Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia (A–L)" (PDF). The Queen's Birthday 2009 Honours List. Governor-General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
^"David Horner, Historian". Guest lecturers. Silversea. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ abc"Professor David Horner AM". Fellows. Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
^Horner, David Murray (1980). "Australia and Allied strategy in the Pacific, 1941–1946". Open Access Theses. Australian National University. doi:10.25911/5d74e42a45ea0. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^Carl Bridge (1998). Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King's College, London. Retrieved from Australian War Memorial, 11 March 2007.
^ abc"David Horner – ANU College of Asia and the Pacific – ANU". Australian National University. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
^ ab"The Spy Catchers". Allen & Unwin. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
^"The Protest Years". Allen & Unwin. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
^"The Secret Cold War". Allen & Unwin. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
^Horner, David (2016). "Researching History at SDSC". In Ball, Desmond; Carr, Andrew (eds.). A National Asset: 50 Years of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Canberra: ANU Press. p. 134. ISBN 9781760460570.