Byron Edgar Farwell (June 20, 1921 – August 3, 1999) was an American

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians nor ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

, and politician. He was the mayor of Hillsboro, Virginia, for three terms, worked for

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automot ...

, and as an author completed 14 books and numerous articles.

Biography

Farwell was born in

Manchester, Iowa Manchester is a city in Delaware Township, Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Delaware County. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and ...

on June 20, 1921. He graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

( M.A., 1968). He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a captain and later also saw combat in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. He separated from the military after seven years of active duty."Byron Farwell, 78, administrator, writer." ''Washington Times'' ashington, DC6 Aug. 1999: 8. His wife was named Ruth. The couple had three children As a civilian, he worked from 1954 to 1971 for

, including many years as director of administration in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

.'''' During part of the 1960s he lived in Switzerland and London. He was mayor of Hillsboro, Virginia, for three terms from 1976 to 1982, losing re-election to a fourth term after a 17-17 vote where the winner was picked out of a punch bowl. As mayor of the town, Farwell became known for coming into conflict with the state and federal governments over items such as the census or regulation of the health department. He was paid $50 dollars a year as mayor. He published articles in publications such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', ''American Heritage'', and ''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' ma ...

'' as well as working as a contributing editor to ''

Military History Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians no ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Collier's Encyclopedia ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' is a discontinued general encyclopedia first published in 1949 by P. F. Collier and Son in the United States. With '' Encyclopedia Americana'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Collier's Encyclopedia'' became one of the th ...

''. He was a member of both the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

. Farwell was also a trustee of the Oatlands mansion. He died on August 3, 1999, of a heart attack, in a hospital in

Loudoun County, Virginia Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

. Farwell gave his papers to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

. He completed 14 books, including ''The Man Who Presumed: A Biography of Henry M. Stanley'' (1957), ''Burton: A Biography of Sir Richard Francis Burton'' (1963), ''The Gurkhas'' (1984), ''The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918'' (1986), ''Armies of the Raj: from the Mutiny to Independence, 1858-1947'' (1989),''The Great Anglo-Boer War'' (1990), and ''Over There: The United States in the Great War, 1917-1918'' (1999).

Books

*''Let's Take a Trip in Our Car'' hildren's book(1954) *''Walter P. Chrysler'' (1957) *''The Man Who Presumed: A Biography of Henry M. Stanley'' (1957) *''Burton: A Biography of Sir Richard Francis Burton'' (1963) *''Prisoners of the Mahdi'' (1967) *''Queen Victoria's Little Wars'' (1972) *''Mr. Kipling's Army'' (1981) *''The Gurkhas'' (1984) *''Eminent Victorian Soldiers: Seekers of Glory'' (1985) *''The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918'' (1986) *''Armies of the Raj: from the Mutiny to Independence, 1858-1947'' (1989) *''The Great Anglo-Boer War'' (1990) *''Ball's Bluff: A Small Battle and Its Long Shadow'' (1990),

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxi ...

: EPM Publications; . *''Stonewall: A Biography of General Thomas J. Jackson'' (1992) *''Over There: The United States in the Great War, 1917-1918'' (1999)

References

External links

The "Papers of Byron Farwell", at the University of Iowa Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farwell, Byron American military historians 1921 births 1999 deaths Ohio State University alumni University of Chicago alumni People from Manchester, Iowa 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers People from Loudoun County, Virginia Mayors of places in Virginia American male non-fiction writers United States Army officers American biographers United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War Military personnel from Iowa