Charles Oscar Paullin (20 July 1869 – 1 September 1944) was an important
naval historian
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...
, who made a significant early contribution to the administrative history of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
Early life and education
Raised in
Greene County, Ohio
Greene County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 167,966. Its county seat is Xenia. The county was established on March 24, 1803 and named for General Nathanael Greene, ...
, Paullin attended
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...
from 1890 to 1893, but before his graduation transferred for his final year at
Union Christian College, Merom, where he took his
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in 1893. He then taught mathematics at
Kee Mar College
Kee Mar College was a private women's college in Hagerstown, Maryland. It was founded in 1853 as the Hagerstown Female Seminary under the auspices of the Lutheran church. The college conferred Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and Master of Arts (A.M.) deg ...
in
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
in 1893–94, before beginning his graduate studies at the
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
in 1894–1895. While employed from 1896 to 1900 at the
U.S. Naval Hydrographic Office, he also earned a degree in
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
at the
Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
in 1897. From 1900 to 1904, Paullin studied at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, where he earned his
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in 1904 with his pioneer study on the administration of the colonial navy during the Revolution, later published as ''The Navy of the American Revolution: Its Administration, Its Policy, and its Achievements.'' While at Chicago he studied the Revolutionary period under the direction of
J. Franklin Jameson
John Franklin Jameson (September 19, 1859 – September 28, 1937) was an American historian, author, and journal editor who played a major role in the professional activities of American historians in the early 20th century. He helped establish t ...
.
Professional career
Following completion of his doctorate, he published a series of articles in the
U.S. Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds se ...
's ''
Proceedings
In academia and librarianship, conference proceedings is a collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference or workshop. Conference proceedings typically contain the contributions made by researchers at the confere ...
'' between 1905 and 1914 that constituted the first administrative history of the U.S. Navy. They were published posthumously as a book in 1968, twenty-four years after his death. Similalry, a series of articles on ''American Voyages to the Orient'' was published in 1971.
From 1910 to his retirement in 1936, Paullin served on the research staff of the
Carnegie Institution
The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...
. In 1911, he gave the
Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History
The Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History are annual lectures delivered at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The lectures were named after the benefactor, Albert Shaw of New York City who had received his Ph.D from Johns Hopki ...
at The
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, which were published the following year as ''Diplomatic Negotiations of American Naval Officers''. In 1911–1913, Paullin lectured on naval history at the
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
. He published his major works on naval history between 1905 and 1918. In 1933,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
awarded Paullin and
John Kirtland Wright John Kirtland Wright (1891–1969) was an American geographer, notable for his cartography, geosophy, and study of the history of geographical thought. He was the son of classical scholar John Henry Wright and novelist Mary Tappan Wright, and the br ...
the
Loubat Prize The Loubat Prize was a pair of prizes awarded by Columbia University every five years between 1898 and 1958 for the best social science works in the English language about North America.
The awards were established and endowed by Joseph Florimond, ...
for their ''Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States'' (1932). He died in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in 1944, and is buried in
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stree ...
there.
Paullin's papers are in the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, and include 1,459 maps on tracing paper used as compilation materials for the ''Atlas of the Historical Geography''.
Published works
*"The Naval Administration of the Southern States During the Revolution," ''The Sewanee Review'' 10:4 (October 1902): 418–428.
* ''The Navy of the American Revolution: its Administration, its Policy and its Achievements''. Chicago: The Burrows Brothers Co., 1906; New York, Haskell House Publishers, 1971.
* ''Services of Commodore
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to:
Military
* John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland
* John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first na ...
in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
(1812–1815)''. Annapolis, 1909
*"President Lincoln and the Navy," ''American Historical Review'' 14:2 (January 1909): 284–303.
* ''Commodore
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to:
Military
* John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland
* John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first na ...
; captain, commodore, and senior officer of the American Navy, 1773-1838''. Cleveland, O., The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1910; Annapolis, U.S. Naval Institute, 1967; New York : Arno Press, 1980.
* ''Diplomatic Negotiations of American Naval Officers, 1778-1883'', The Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History, 1911. (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1912; Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1967)
* ''The
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...
'', edited by C.O. Paullin. Cleveland, Ohio: Rowfant Club, 1918.
* ''Out-letters of the Continental Marine Committee and Board of Admiralty, August, 1776-September, 1780'', edited by Charles Oscar Paullin. New York, Printed for the Naval History Society by the De Vinne Press, 1914.
* ''Guide to the materials in London archives for the history of the United States since 1783'', by Charles O. Paullin and Frederic L. Paxson. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1914.
* ''European treaties bearing on the history of the United States and its dependencies ...'', edited by
Frances Gardiner Davenport
Frances Gardiner Davenport (1870 – November 11, 1927) was an American historian who specialized in the later Middle Ages and the European colonization of the New World.
Early life
Born in 1870, Davenport was educated at Barnard College and Radcl ...
with Charles Oscar Paullin. Washington, D.C., Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1917–37; Gloucester, Mass., P. Smith, 1967; Clark, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange, 2004.
* 'President Lincoln and the Navy.' Tarrytown, N.Y., 1930
* ''Atlas of the historical geography of the United States'', by Charles O. Paullin; edited by John K. Wright.''
ashington, D.C., New YorkPub. jointly by Carnegie institution of Washington and the American geographical society of New York, 1932; Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1975.
* ''The Paullin family of southern New Jersey''. Washington, D.C., Mimeoform Press, 1933.
* 'History of the site of the Congressional and Folger libraries,' Washington, 1937.
* ''Paullin’s history of naval administration, 1775-1911: a collection of articles from the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings''. Annapolis, U.S. Naval Institute, 1968.
* ''American voyages to the Orient, 1690–1865; an account of merchant and naval activities in China, Japan and the various Pacific Islands''. Annapolis, Md., U.S. Naval Institute
971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
Sources
* Biographic sketch in ''American Voyages to the Orient''
* Who's Who
*
Harold D. Langley
Harold David Langley (February 15, 1925 – July 29, 2020) was an American diplomatic and naval historian who served as associate curator of naval history at the Smithsonian Institution from 1969 to 1996. As a naval historian, he was a pioneer in ...
, "Remembering a Forgotten Naval Historian," ''Naval History'', vol. 22, Number 1, (February 2008), pp. 64–67.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paullin, Charles O.
1869 births
1944 deaths
People from Greene County, Ohio
American naval historians
American male non-fiction writers
Antioch College alumni
Historians of the American Revolution
University of Chicago alumni
Catholic University of America alumni
Historians from Ohio
Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery