Robert G. Albion

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Robert G. Albion (born 15 August 1896 in Malden, Massachusetts - died 9 August 1983 in Groton, Connecticut) was Harvard's first professor of Oceanic History and inspired two generations of maritime historians in the United States. Highly respected, he was often referred to as the 'dean of American maritime historians.'

[edit] Education

Raised in South Portland, Maine, Albion became interested in journalism and shipping while studying economics at Bowdoin College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1918. After serving as a second lieutenant in the Army Infantry at the end of World War One, he became a graduate at Harvard University. He received his Master's degree in 1920 and completed his doctorate in British history in 1924 with a dissertation on Forests and Sea Power: The Timber problem of the Royal Navy. Published in 1926, this work was a highly influential study that combined his interests in ships, British history, and economics.

[edit] Professional Career

He began his teaching career at Princeton University as an instructor of British history in 1922 and he taught a popular course in maritime history, rising to be professor of history and assistant dean of the faculty. In 1923, he married, Jennie Barnes Pope, who collaborated with him on several works. After writing several works on military history, he returned to maritime history with The Rise of New York Port, 1815-1860 and Square Riggers on Schedule. In February 1943, he was given an adjunct appointment as historian of Naval Administration, U.S. Navy Department, a position he held until 1950. In this position, he oversaw the work of some 150 naval officers, who wrote about 200 studies on the navy's wartime administration. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Presidential Medal for Merit for his work in naval history. Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal personally encouraged Albion to study the history of the formulation of American naval policy. As a result of this, Albion eventually published two important works: Forrestal and the Navy and Makers of Naval Policy, 1798-1947. The latter proved to be very controversial within the Navy and was long delayed in publication.

In 1948, he appointed him the first Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs at Harvard University. He held that position from 1949 to 1963, teaching a very popular undergraduate course that was known as 'Boats.' In 1955, Albion founded and was the first director of the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History at Mystic Seaport, a summer graduate program in which he trained and inspired many of the nation's leading maritime historians, regularly teaching there for twenty years until retiring in 1975.

Albion was a pioneer in the use of television for distance education. He lectured afloat for the Harvard Polaris Program and served as a visiting professor at a number of universities between 1964 and 1972.

[edit] Published Works

Forests and Seapower (1926, 1965, 2000)
Introduction to military history (1929, 1971)
Brief biographies in American history, with Jennie Barnes Pope (1930)
Brief biographies in modern history, by Jennie B. Pope, Helen B. Clark [and] Robert G. Albion. (1930)
Brief biographies in ancient history, by Jennie B. Pope, M.A., Robert G. Albion, PH.D., Helen B. Clark, M.A. (1931)
Brief biographies in medieval and early modern history, by Jennie B. Pope, M.A., Robert G. Albion, PH. D., and Helen C. Clark, M.A. (1931)
Visualized early European history, by J.B. Pope ... edited by Robert G. Albion (1936)
A history of England and the British Empire, by Walter Phelps Hall and Robert Greenhalgh Albion, with the collaboration of Jennie Barnes Pope. (1937, 1946, 1971, 1984)
Square-Riggers on Schedule (1938, 1965)
The Rise of New York Port, 1815-1860, with the collaboration of Jennie Barnes Pope (1939, 1961, 1970, 1984)
Sea lanes in wartime: the American experience, 1775-1942, by Robert Greenhalgh Albion and Jennie Barnes Pope (1942, 1968)
Seaports South of the Sahara: the achievements of an American steamship service. With the collaboration of Jennie B. Pope (1959)
Forrestal and the Navy, by Robert Greenhalgh Albion and Robert Howe Connery; with the collaboration of Jennie Barnes Pope, foreword by William T.R. Fox.
Exploration and discovery, edited by Robert G. Albion (1965)
Maritime and Naval History: An Annotated Bibliography 4th edition (1972)
New England and the sea, by Robert G. Albion, William A. Baker [and] Benjamin W. Labaree. Marion V. Brewington, picture editor. (1972)
The Atlantic world of Robert G. Albion, edited by Benjamin W. Labaree and a bibliography of the works of Robert G. Albion by Joan Bentinck-Smith; drawings by William A. Baker (1975)
Five centuries of famous ships: from the Santa Maria to the Glomar Explorer, with a foreword by Benjamin Labaree (1978)
The Makers of Naval Policy, 1798-1947, edited by Rowena Reed (1980)
A supplement (1971-1986) to Robert G. Albion’s Naval & maritime history, an annotated bibliography, fourth edition, by Benjamin W. Labaree (1988)