John Brewster Hattendorf,FRHistS, FSNR, (born December 22, 1941) is an American naval historian. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than fifty books, mainly on British and Americanmaritime history and naval warfare. In 2005, the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings described him as "one of the most widely known and well-respected naval historians in the world."[1] In reference to his work on the history of naval strategy, an academic in Britain termed him the "doyen of US naval educators."[2] A Dutch scholar went further to say that Hattendorf "may rightly be called one of the most influential maritime historians in the world."[3]
From 1984 to 2016, he was the Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He has called maritime history "a subject that touches on both the greatest moments of the human spirit as well as on the worst, including war."[4]
In 2011, the Naval War College announced the establishment of the Hattendorf Prize for Distinguished Original Research in Maritime History, named for him.[5][6] The 2014 Oxford Naval Conference - "Strategy and the Sea" - celebrated his distinguished career on April 10–12, 2014.[7] The proceedings of the conference were published as a festschrift.[8] In March 2016, Hattendorf received the higher doctorate of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from the University of Oxford.[9] Among the few Americans to have received such designation, Hattendorf remained actively engaged on the Naval War College campus after his formal retirement in 2016.
Remaining in scholarly service as the Ernest J. King Professor Emeritus of Maritime History at the Naval War College, Hattendorf continued guiding discussions about the role of history in understanding contemporary strategic problems in the global maritime arena. Recognizing his contributions in the fields of maritime history and naval strategy, the President of the Naval War College, Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harley, established the "John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research" in the summer of 2017. The Hattendorf Historical Center performs the mission of supporting history requirements in Professional Military Education through original documentary research, scholarly publications, public education programming, and direct support to the seagoing forces of the U.S. Navy. As history is largely unclassified, the Hattendorf Historical Center also provides historical foundations for contemporary discussion in the interest of facilitating international partnerships in the global maritime commons.[10]
After graduation from Kenyon College, he served his country in uniform for eight years during the Vietnam War period, as a naval officer. He served on board USS O'Brien (DD-725), earning a commendation from the Commander, United States Seventh Fleet, for outstanding performance of duty during combat operations in April 1967. Later, he served at sea in USS Purdy (DD-734) and USS Fiske (DD-842). While in the U.S. Navy, Hattendorf also served ashore at the Naval History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Op-09B9), in Washington, D.C. in 1967–69, where he was first trained in naval history under Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller and Dr. William J. Morgan, and at the Naval War College in 1972–73, where he served as speech writer and research assistant to Vice Admiral Stansfield Turner and also taught in the college's strategy and policy department.[13]
Civilian academic careeredit
Hattendorf has spent most of his civilian academic career at the United States Naval War College, returning there as a civilian faculty member in 1977. He taught Strategy and Policy for a number of years. From 1988 to 2003, he directed the United States Naval War College's Advanced Research Department. In 2003, Hattendorf became the first chairman of the Naval War College's newly established Maritime History Department, where he oversaw its research section and also the director of the Naval War College Museum. He retired in September 2016 and was promoted to Ernest J. King Professor Emeritus of Maritime History. He identified four primary audiences for the U.S. Navy's maritime history programs: sailors, Navy leaders, government policymakers, and the American people.[14]
He was senior editor of the series Classics of Sea Power for the U.S. Naval Institute Press and edited the series Maritime Books, 1475–1800, a collection of facsimiles of rare books from the John Carter Brown Library.
Harbors and high seas: an atlas and geographical guide to the complete Aubrey-Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian by Dean King with John B. Hattendorf ; maps by William Clipson, Jeffrey Ward, and Adam Merton Cooper (1996; 1999)
Edited historical documentsedit
The Writings of Stephen B. Luce edited with a commentary by John D. Hayes and John B. Hattendorf (1975)
On His Majesty's service: observations of the British Home Fleet from the diary, reports, and letters of Joseph H. Wellings, Assistant U.S. Naval Attaché, London, 1940–41 edited by John B. Hattendorf (1983)
Mahan on naval strategy: selections from the writings of Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan with an introduction by John B. Hattendorf, editor (1991)
Saint Barthélemy and the Swedish West India Company: a selection of printed documents, 1784–1814, facsimile reproductions with an introduction by John B. Hattendorf (1994)
John Robinson's Account of Sweden, 1688: the original 1688 manuscript, edited and collated with the 1693 manuscript and the published editions from 1694 with an introduction by John B. Hattendorf (1998)
Every man will do his duty: an anthology of first-hand accounts from the age of Nelson, 1793–1815 Dean King with John B. Hattendorf [editors]; maps by Adam Merton Cooper (1997; 2002)
U.S. Naval Strategy in the 1990s: Selected Documents (2006)
U.S. Naval Strategy in the 1970s: Selected Documents (2007)
U.S. Naval Strategy in the 1980s: Selected Documents (2008)
Preparations for the Defense of Rhode Island, 1755 (2017)[31]
Albert P. Niblack, Putting Cargoes Through: The U.S. Navy at Gibraltar During the First World War, 1917-1919, edited with an introduction by John B. Hattendorf. (Gibraltar: Calpe Press, 2018).
Mary Gould Almy's Journal during the Siege of Newport, Rhode Island, 29 July to 24 August 1778. A Facsimile, Transcribed, Annotated, and Edited by John B. Hattendorf. (Rhode Island Sons of the Revolution, 2018).
A Redcoat in America: The Diaries of Lieutenant William Bamford, 1757-1765 and 1776. (Warwick: Helion & Co., 2019).
The Battle of Rhode Island in 1778: The Official British View as Reported in the London Gazette. A Facsimile with an Introduction and an Annotated Transcription by John B. Hattendorf (Newport: Stone Tower Press for Rhode Island Sons of the Revolution, 2021).
To The Java Sea: Selections from the Diary, Letters, and Reports of Henry E. Eccles, 1940–1942. (Newport: Naval War College Press, 2021).
Recovering Naval Power: Henry Maydman and the Revival of the Royal Navy, edited by John Hattendorf and Geoffrey Till. (London: Routledge, 2023).
Introductions to historical booksedit
Charles Nordhoff, Man-of-war life: a boy's experience in the United States Navy, during a voyage around the world in a ship-of-the-line [1855] (1985)
J.C. Wylie, Military strategy: a general theory of power control (1967). (1989)
Julian Corbett, Maritime operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905 introduction by D. M. Schurman and John B. Hattendorf (1994)
Tobias Gentleman, England's way to win wealth, and to employ ships and marriners (1614). Delmar, N.Y.: Published for the John Carter Brown Library by Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, (1995)
Josiah Burchett, A Complete History of the Most Remarkable Transactions at Sea [1720] Delmar, N.Y.: Published for the John Carter Brown Library by Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, (1995)
Christopher Lloyd, Lord Cochrane: seaman, radical, liberator: a life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1947). (1998)
Lawrence C. Wroth, The Way of a Ship, An Essay in the Literature of Navigation Science, along with, Some American Contributions to the Art of Navigation, 1519–1802. Revised editions, edited with a foreword by John B. Hattendorf. (Providence: The John Carter Brown Library, 2011).
Edited collectionsedit
Maritime strategy and the balance of power: Britain and America in the twentieth century edited by John B. Hattendorf and Robert S. Jordan; foreword by Robert O'Neill (1989)
Limitations of military power: essays presented to Professor Norman Gibbs on his eightieth birthday edited by John B. Hattendorf and Malcolm H. Murfett ; foreword by Andrew Goodpaster, Piers Mackesy and Sir Michael Pike (1990)
The influence of history on Mahan: the proceedings of a conference marking the centenary of Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of sea power upon history, 1660–1783 edited by John B. Hattendorf (1991)
Ubi sumus?: the state of naval and maritime history edited by John B. Hattendorf (1994)
Maritime history: The Age of Discovery and The Eighteenth Century and the Classic Age of Sail, edited by John B. Hattendorf (1996–97)
Naval policy and strategy in the Mediterranean: past, present and future edited by John B. Hattendorf (2000)
War at sea in the Middle Ages and Renaissance edited by John B. Hattendorf and Richard W. Unger (2003)
The Cold War at sea: an international appraisal guest editors Lyle J. Goldstein, John B. Hattendorf and Yuri M. Zhukov. Journal of Strategic Studies, (April 2005)
Nineteen-Gun Salute: Case Studies of Operational, Strategic, and Diplomatic Naval Leadership during the 20th and Early 21st Centuries, edited by John B. Hattendorf and Bruce A. Elleman. (2010)
Marlborough: Soldier and Diplomat, edited by John B. Hattendorf, Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr., and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier (Rotterdam: Karwansaray, 2012).
Charles XII: Warrior King, edited by John B. Hattendorf, Åsa Karlsson, Margriet Lacy-Bruijn, Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr., and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier (Rotterdam: Karwansaray, 2018).
Forging the Trident: Theodore Roosevelt and the United States Navy, edited by John B. Hattendorf and William P. Leeman (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2020).
Proceedings of the International Seapower Symposiumedit
Eleventh International Seapower Symposium: report of proceedings of the conference, 6–9 October 1991, edited by John B. Hattendorf (1992)
Twelfth International Seapower Symposium: report of proceedings of the conference, 7–10 November 1993 edited by John B. Hattendorf (1994)
Thirteenth International Seapower Symposium: report of proceedings of the conference, 5–8 November 1995 edited by John B. Hattendorf (1995)
Fourteenth International Seapower Symposium: report of the proceedings of the conference, 2–5 November 1997 edited by John B. Hattendorf (1998)
Sixteenth International Seapower Symposium: report of the proceedings 26–29 October 2003, edited by John B. Hattendorf (2004)
Seventeenth International Seapower Symposium: report of the proceedings 19–23 September 2005, edited by John B. Hattendorf (2006)
Eighteenth International Seapower Symposium: report of the proceedings 17–19 October 2007, edited by John B. Hattendorf with John W. Kennedy (2009)
Nineteenth International Seapower Symposium: report of the proceedings 6–9 October 2009, edited by John B. Hattendorf and John W. Kennedy (2010)
Twentieth International Seapower Symposium: report of the proceedings 19-21 October 2011, edited by John B. Hattendorf and John W. Kennedy (2012)
Twenty-First International Seapower Symposium: Report of the proceedings 16-19 September 2014, edited by John B. Hattendorf and John W. Kennedy (2015)
Twenty-Second International Seapower Symposium: Report of the proceedings 20-23 September 2016, edited by John B. Hattendorf (2017)
Guides and registers to manuscript collections at the Naval War Collegeedit
Register of the papers of William L. Mullin compiled by John B. Hattendorf (1981) [1]
A bibliography of the works of Alfred Thayer Mahan compiled by John B. Hattendorf and Lynn C. Hattendorf (1987)
"A bibliography of the works of Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond" and "A bibliography of the works of Sir Julian Corbett" in Goldrick and Hattendorf, eds., Mahan is Not Enough, (1993)
Exhibition cataloguesedit
"The boundless deep...": the European conquest of the Oceans, 1450 to 1840: catalogue of an exhibition of rare books, maps, charts, prints and manuscripts relating to maritime history from the John Carter Brown Library (2003)
Trafalgar and Nelson 200 Archived 2007-07-15 at the Wayback Machine: Catalogue of an exhibition of rare books, maps, charts, prints, models, and signal flags relating to events and influences of the Battle of Trafalgar and Lord Nelson (2005)
Command of the Sea: Catalogue of an Exhibition of American Naval Art from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, the U.S. Navy Art Collection, and the U.S. Naval War College Museum displayed at the Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, 6 June – 12 August 2007[permanent dead link] (2008)
Faces of the Naval War College (2009)
Pictorial historiesedit
A Dusty Path: A pictorial History of Kenyon College (1964)
Selected essays and articlesedit
"The Idea of the Fleet in Being in Historical Perspective",Naval War College Review (Winter 2014).
"The Uses of Maritime History in and for the Navy"
"Purpose and Contribution in Editing Naval Documents: A General Appreciation"
Notesedit
^U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 130/12/1,222 (December 2005), p. 64
^Beatrice Heuser, The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present (Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 287
^Gijs Rommelse, Review of Strategy and the Sea in Tijdschrift voor Zeegeschiedenis, no. 1 (2017), pp. 84-86, quotation on p. 84.
^ ab"Remarks on Receiving an Honorary Degree". Archived from the original on 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
^"H-Net news report". Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
^"List of Associate Members of the Academia de Marinha in the Class of Maritime History". Archived from the original on 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
^Hattendorf, John B. (2017). Preparations for the Defense of Rhode Island 1755. ISBN 978-1978366411.
Referencesedit
Alastair Cooper and Joseph F. Callo, Jr., comps., Who's Who in Naval History (2004)
Contemporary Authors
U.S. Naval War College Library
Eugene L. Rasor, English/British Naval History to 1815. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004, pp. xvii–xviii, 1, 45. Dedicatee of volume.
Dennis Fiely, "High Seas Historian," Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin, vol. 33, no, 2 (Winter 2011), p. 43.
Marquis Who's Who in America.
Annie Sherman, Legendary Locals of Newport, (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2013), p. 35.
N.A.M. Rodger, "John B. Hattendorf--A Transatlantic Tribute" in Rodger, J. Ross Dancy, Benjamin Darnell, and Evan Wilson, eds., Strategy and the Sea: Essays in Honour of John B. Hattendorf, (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2016), pp. 1–4.
Evan Wilson, ed., The Hattendorf Prize Lectures, Volume 1:2011-2019 (Newport: Naval War College Press, 2020), pp. 3–4.
External linksedit
Books by John B. Hattendorf listed in the WorldCat Catalogue
Publications posted at Academia.edu
Naval War College Faculty page
"High Seas Historian," Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin Winter 2011
Video on YouTube of the first Hattendorf Prize ceremony, U.S. Naval War College, 20 October 2011
U.S. Navy Video of the Third Hattendorf Prize ceremony, U.S. Naval War College, 22 October 2016, including award of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award
Marquis Who's Who Radio Interview 24 August 2018
Marquis Who's Who Professional Timeline:John B Hattendorf
Marquis Who's Who Top Educators 2020
Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Interview
Lyons Township High School Hall of Fame citation, 1998.