Benjamin Woods Labaree (July 21, 1927 – August 30, 2021The Passing of Ben Labaree
/ref>) was a leading historian of American colonial history and American maritime history. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Benjamin W Labaree 1977

Early life and education

Son of the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

professor of history

Leonard Woods Labaree Leonard W. Labaree (August 26, 1897, near Urumia, Persia – May 5, 1980, in Northford, Connecticut) was a distinguished documentary editor, a professor of history at Yale University for more than forty years, an historian of Colonial America, ...

and Elizabeth Mary Calkins, Benjamin Woods Labaree was raised in New Haven, Connecticut, and attended

The Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It is also a former member of the G30 Schools gr ...

. He earned his bachelor's degree at Yale University in 1950, after having served in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1945-46. After graduation from Yale, he went on to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he earned his master's degree in history in 1953 and his Ph.D. in history in 1957.

Professional career

Labaree began his teaching career as an instructor in history at

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

in New Hampshire from 1950 until 1952 and then at

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

in New London, Connecticut, in 1957-58. In 1958, he received an appointment at

, rising from instructor to assistant professor of history and

Allston Burr Senior Tutor In each of the twelve Houses in the Harvard College House system, the Allston Burr Resident Dean (for many decades the ''Allston Burr Senior Tutor'') is an Assistant Dean of the College, responsible for the academic and disciplinary well-being of t ...

. While serving in these appointments, he was also managing editor of the ''Essex Institute Historical Collections'' at the

Essex Institute The Essex Institute (1848–1992) in Salem, Massachusetts, was "a literary, historical and scientific society." It maintained a museum, library, historic houses; arranged educational programs; and issued numerous scholarly publications. In 1992 th ...

, Salem, Massachusetts, in 1956-60. In 1963, he was appointed dean of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, serving in that role until 1967. Concurrently, he served as an associate professor, then professor of history, 1963–77 and later Ephraim Williams Professor of American History, 1972-77. Between 1977-1989, he was director of the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Program (commonly called Williams-Mystic) at

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

Museum, Mystic, Connecticut, 1977–89; director, Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College, 1989–92; and professor of history and environmental studies, 1989–92. He retired from Williams College in 1992 as professor emeritus. Closely associated with Professor Robert G. Albion of Harvard University, Labaree succeeded him as Director of the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History in 1974. His directorship of the Munson Institute culminated with being co-director of the National Endowment of the Humanities Summer Institute for college and university teachers on America and the Sea in 1996. After retirement from Williams, he was visiting professor at

Trinity College (Connecticut) Trinity College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coed ...

in 1993, Williams College in 1994,

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

in 1997, and the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1998.

Awards

Labaree was honored with the Citation of Honor by the Society of Colonial Wars in 1978, The Wilbur Cross Award by the Connecticut Humanities Council in 1990, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award of the

USS Constitution Museum The USS Constitution Museum is located in the Charlestown Navy Yard, which is part of the Boston National Historical Park in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The museum is situated near the ship at the end of Boston's Freedom Trail. The ...

in 1993, and a co-recipient of the John Lyman Book Award by the

North American Society for Oceanic History The North American Society for Oceanic History (NASOH) is the national organization in the United States of America for professional historians, underwater archeologists, archivists, librarians, museum specialists and others working in the broad fi ...

in 1999. Labaree House at

Museum was named in his honor.

Published works

*''Patriots and Partisans,'' 1962 *''The Boston Tea Party,'' 1964, 1968 *''New England and the Sea,'' by Robert G. Albion,

William A. Baker William Avery Baker (born in New Britain, Connecticut on 21 October 1911 – died 9 September 1981) was a distinguished naval architect of Ship replica, replica historic ships and a maritime historian, who was curator of the Francis Russell Hart Na ...

and Benjamin W. Labaree. Marion V. Brewington, picture editor, 1972 *''American Nation-Time: 1607-1789'' 1972, 1976 *''The Atlantic world of Robert G. Albion,'' edited by Benjamin W. Labaree ; with chapters by William A. Baker ...

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

and a bibliography of the works of Robert G. Albion by Joan Bentick-Smith; drawings by William A. Baker, 1975. *''Patriots and partisans: the merchants of

Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

, 1764-1815.'' 1975 *''Empire or independence, 1760-1776: a British-American dialogue on the coming of the American Revolution,'' edited by

Ian R. Christie Ian Ralph Christie, (11 May 1919 – 25 November 1998) was a British historian specialising in late 18th-century Britain. He spent most of his academic career at University College London (UCL), from 1948 to 1984. Early life He was born in ...

and Benjamin W. Labaree, 1976 *''Colonial

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

: a history,'' 1979 *''A supplement (1971–1986) to Robert G. Albion's Naval & Maritime history, an annotated bibliography, fourth edition,'' 1988 *''America and the sea: a maritime history,'' by Benjamin W. Labaree, William M. Fowler, Jr.,

John B. Hattendorf John Brewster Hattendorf, D.Phil., D.Litt., L.H.D., 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 American maritime hi ...

, Edward W. Sloan, Jeffrey J. Safford, and Andrew German, 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labaree, Benjamin Woods 1927 births 2021 deaths American historians American maritime historians Hotchkiss School alumni Yale University alumni Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the Thirteen Colonies Historians of the United States Harvard University alumni Williams College faculty Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History faculty Historians from Connecticut