David McDowall Hannay (25 December 185329 May 1934) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

. Hannay was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His father, James Hannay, had been in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, but later became a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. David Hannay was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, and then joined his father, who was British

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, as vice-consul. Over a period of years he wrote on naval topics in many journals and magazines. His first book was a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on Admiral Robert Blake, and he contributed several other works to various series of naval biographies. In addition, his interest in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

led to a study of its literature and he became a recognized authority on Spanish affairs. Hannay was an original member of the

Navy Records Society The Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly text publication society to publish historical documents relating to the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key lea ...

on its formation in 1893, and due to his research efforts, and his lectures at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

, he became recognized as a leading scholar and historian on naval affairs. He contributed many articles to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and a few to the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Through his influence as a journalist he helped form public and naval opinion on the need for an adequate

naval fleet A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not ne ...

prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He contributed articles to the ''Pall Mall Gazette'', the ''Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art'', and the ''

St James's Gazette The ''St James's Gazette'' was a London evening newspaper published from 1880 to 1905. It was founded by the Conservative Henry Hucks Gibbs, later Baron Aldenham, a director of the Bank of England 1853–1901 and its governor 1875–1877; the ...

''. He was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

Publications

* ''Admiral Blake'' (1886

* ''Life of Tobias George Smollett'' (1887

* ''Life of Frederick Marryat'' (1889

* ''Rodney'' (1891) (George Bridges Rodney

* ''Don Emilio Castelar'' (1896

* ''The Later Renaissance'' (1898), from the series ''Periods of European Literature'' edited by George Saintsbur

* ''A short history of the Royal Navy'' in 2 vols
vol. 1 (1898)
vol.2 (1907) * ''Ships and Men'' (1910) * ''The Sea Trader: his friends and enemies'' (1912

* ''Naval Courts Martial'' (1914

* ''Diaz'' (1917) (Mexican President Porfirio Díaz

* ''Spain'' (1917

Notes

External links

* * * 1853 births 1934 deaths English naval historians 19th-century British historians 20th-century English historians British male journalists People educated at Westminster School, London 19th-century British male writers 19th-century British writers {{UK-historian-stub