Michael Howard | |
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| Born | Michael Eliot Howard (1922-11-29)29 November 1922 London, England |
| Died | 30 November 2019(2019-11-30) (aged 97) Swindon, England |
| Education | Christ Church, Oxford (MA) |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Title | Regius Professor of Modern History |
| Term | 1980–1989 |
| Predecessor | Hugh Trevor-Roper |
| Successor | John Elliott |
| Partner | Mark Anthony James (Civil Partnership: 2006–2019)[1] |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Service number | 253901 |
| Unit | Coldstream Guards |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Sir Michael Eliot HowardOM CH CBE MC FBA FRHistS (29 November 1922 – 30 November 2019) was an Englishmilitary historian, formerlyChichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow ofAll Souls College,Regius Professor of Modern History at theUniversity of Oxford, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History atYale University, and founder of theDepartment of War Studies, King's College London.[1] In 1958, he co-founded theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies.[2]
In 2013, Howard was described in theFinancial Times as "Britain's greatest living historian".[3]The Guardian described him as "Britain's foremost expert on conflict".[2]
Howard was born on 29 November 1922 inBrompton, London, the youngest son of Geoffrey Howard and Edith (née Edinger).[4] His mother was the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Germany, who later converted to Christianity. His father was the chairman of a manufacturing company.[4] Howard was educated atWellington College andChrist Church, Oxford. He graduated with aBachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1946, which was later promoted toMaster of Arts (MA) in 1948.[1]
Howard joined theBritish Army and wascommissioned as asecond lieutenant into theColdstream Guards on 4 December 1942. He was given thepersonal number 253901.[5] He fought in theItalian Campaign, serving with the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, and came ashore during thelandings at Salerno in September 1943. On 27 January 1944, during theFirst Battle of Monte Cassino, he was awarded theMilitary Cross (MC) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy".[6]
After Oxford, Howard began his teaching career atKing's College London, where he helped to found theDepartment of War Studies.[7] From his position at King's he was one of Britain's most influential figures in developing strategic studies as a discipline that brought together government, military, and academia to think about defence and national security more broadly and deeply than had been done before.
He was one of the founders of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.[2] From his family, education, and service in the Guards, he had extensive connections at the higher levels of British society, and he worked them astutely to further his intellectual goals. He had close connections in the Labour Party but was also consulted as an advisor byMargaret Thatcher.[9]
Howard was best known for expanding military history beyond the traditionalcampaigns andbattles accounts to include wider discussions about thesociological significance of war.[9] In his account of theFranco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Howard looked at how the Prussian and French armies reflected the social structure of the two nations. He was also a leading interpreter of the writings of the Prussian military thinkerCarl von Clausewitz, including preparing a translation ofOn War with the American historianPeter Paret.[2]
In addition, in both his inaugural and concluding lectures as Regius Professor, and in his popular and influentialWar in European History, Howard stressed the difference between traditional military history, which seeks to identify easily applicable lessons for the present from the history of past wars and military campaigns, and his own approach, which stresses the uniqueness of the historical past and the impossibility of deriving such lessons to guide modern strategic and tactical choices.[4]
In 1985, he delivered theHuizinga Lecture in the Dutch city ofLeiden, under the title:1945: End of an Era.[10] Howard helped found theDepartment of War Studies and theLiddell Hart Centre for Military Archives atKing's College London. He was president emeritus of theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies, which he also helped to establish, and a fellow of theBritish Academy.[2]
In 1958, Howard met geography teacher Mark Anthony James, and they began a relationship. They entered into a civil partnership in 2006, and latterly lived inEastbury, Berkshire.[4] Howard died at a hospital inSwindon on 30 November 2019, at the age of 97; James died two months later.[4]
Howard was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1977 Birthday Honours and aKnight Bachelor in the1986 Birthday Honours.[11][12] He was later appointed to theOrder of the Companions of Honour (CH) for services to military studies in the2002 Birthday Honours and to theOrder of Merit (OM) in 2005.[13][14] In 1988 he was elected a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of War Sciences.[15] In 1992, he was awarded theSamuel Eliot Morison Prize for lifetime achievement given by theSociety for Military History.[16]
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| External videos | |
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 Booknotes interview with Howard onThe First World War, 16 March 2003,C-SPAN |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Academic offices | ||
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| New title | Head ofDepartment of War Studies, King's College London 1962–1968 | Succeeded by |
