Samuel Eliot Morison

Samuel Eliot Morison (1887–1976), an American historian, was born in Boston, Massachusetts attending Noble & Greenough School and St. Paul's. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and then became an instructor in history at the University of California, Berkeley, then Oxford University Harmsworth Professor of American History before returning to Harvard, teaching history at the university for 40 years. During WWI he served as a private in the US Army and during WWII he was commissioned to write a history of United States naval operations which was published in 15 volumes between 1947 and 1962. He joined patrol boats, destroyers, and heavy cruisers, took part in planning sessions for invasions, witnessed sea battles (narrowly escaping death at the hands of a kamikaze) and conducted post-operational interviews with commanders in the Pacific theater, attaining the rank of captain. He was promoted to rear admiral after retirement.

Over the years he received 11 honorary doctoral degrees, and many literary prizes, military honors, and national awards from both foreign countries and the United States, including 2 Pulitzer Prizes, 2 Bancroft Prizes, the Balzan Prize, the Legion of Merit, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1979, the frigate USS Samuel Eliot Morison was named in his honour.