Dr. Dean Conrad Allard, Jr. (October 19, 1933 – September 27, 2018) was a naval

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and archivist. He served as the Director of Naval History and 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 ...

Naval Historical Center The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

from 1989 to 1995.

Early life and education

The son of Dean Conrad Allard, Sr., and his wife Elizabeth Donaldson Graves, Allard attended the Pembroke Country-Day School in Kansas City and then went on to

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, where he earned his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1955 and was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

. He married Constance Lynne Morgan on June 17, 1955, with whom he had four children. After serving in the

from 1955 to 1958, he returned to graduate school in history at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, where he earned his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1959 with a thesis on "The Influence of the United States Navy upon the American Steel Industry, 1880-1900." He completed 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 ...

at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

in 1967 under Professor

Wood Gray Wood Gray (March 19, 1905 - June 27, 1977) was a history professor at George Washington University, public speaker, and writer. He specialized in American social history and the history of the American Civil War. He was a consultant for the United ...

with a dissertation on " Spencer Fullerton Baird and the U.S. Fish Commission: a Study in the History of American Science."

Career

Upon leaving active service in the Navy, Allard was appointed head of the U.S. Navy's Operational Archives in 1958 and served in that position until 1982, when he became senior historian. In 1989, he was appointed Director of Naval History and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1995. Allard served as an adjunct professor of history at

from 1979 to 1989. In addition, he served as President of the Arlington Historical Society from 1974 to 1975; member of the council of Woodlawn Plantation in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

, from 1976 to 1984; chairman of the Historical Commission of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

, from 1978 to 1980; and member of the French-U.S. Scientific Committee on the

CSS Alabama CSS ''Alabama'' was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool, England by John Laird Sons and Company. ''Alabama'' served as a successful commerce raider, attackin ...

from 1991 to 1995. He served as vice president of the International Commission for Military History from 2000 to 2005; a member of the executive council of the International Commission for Maritime History from 1990 to 2002; president of the U.S. Commission for Military History from 1995 to 1999; vice president of the

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

from 1983 to 1986; and President of 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 ...

from 1985 to 1989. He was a member of the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C. that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

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, ...

''Marquis Who's Who''

Awards and honors

* 1992 K. Jack Bauer Award of the

* 1995 Samuel Eliot Morison Award of the USS Constitution Museum * 1995

Navy Superior Civilian Service Award The Navy Superior Civilian Service Award is the highest honorary award the Chief of Naval Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps may bestow on a civilian employee in the Department of the Navy and the highest award granted at the majo ...

* 2015 Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award of the

Naval Historical Foundation The Naval Historical Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1926, has a broad mission to preserve and promote the naval history of the United States by supporting official Sea Services programs and institutions, meeting the needs of the pu ...

"2015 Dudley W. Knox Medal Recipients", ''Pull Together,'' vol. 54, no. 3 (Summer 2015), p. A-5

Publications

* ''U.S. Naval History Sources in the Washington Area and Suggested Research Subjects'', compiled by Dean C. Allard and Betty Bern. Washington; U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1970. * ''The United States Navy and the Vietnam Conflict: The Setting of the Stage to 1959 '', vol. 1. by Edwin B. Hooper, Dean C. Allard, and Oscar P. Fitzgerald. Washington; U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1976. * '' Spencer Fullerton Baird and the U.S. Fish Commission''. New York: Arno Press, 1978. * ''U.S. Naval History Sources in the United States'', compiled and edited by Dean C. Allard, Martha L. Crawley, and Mary W. Edmison. Washington; U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1979.

Sources

* ''

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'': "Dean C. Allard" {{DEFAULTSORT:Allard, Dean C. 1933 births 2018 deaths Writers from Kansas City, Missouri Dartmouth College alumni Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni George Washington University alumni American naval historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of the United States