George Gaddis Smith (December 9, 1932 – December 2, 2022) was an American historian who was the Larned Professor Emeritus of History at

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 w ...

and an expert on U.S.

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...

and maritime history.

Biography

Born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, Gaddis was raised in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern-central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United State ...

. He graduated from the

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, and a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus ...

in 1950. Smith spent virtually his entire career at Yale. He received his bachelor's degree from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1954; he served as chairman of the ''

Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consis ...

''. In 1961, he earned his PhD in history from Yale, and joined their faculty. In over 40 years of teaching at the university, he chaired the Department of History, served as master of

Pierson College Pierson College is a residential college at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Opened in 1933, it is named for Abraham Pierson, a founder and the first rector of the Collegiate School, the college later known as Yale. With just under 50 ...

and directed the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. He retired from his appointment in 2000. Smith spent more than 23 years writing a history of the university. ''Yale in the 20th Century'' was to be published in August 2007, but it has yet to be released. He continued to teach the occasional seminar at Yale. Smith received several awards from Yale College for his work there: *1986 - ''The William Clyde DeVane Medal'' for distinguished scholarship and teaching, awarded by the Yale Chapter (Alpha of Connecticut) of

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 ...

*1989 - ''The Harwood F. Byrnes-Richard B. Sewall Prize'' for Teaching Excellence *1997 - ''The Mory's Cup'' for service to the University One of his former students was former President George W. Bush. Smith was a member of the

Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences is a learned society founded in 1799 in New Haven, Connecticut "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest and happiness of a free and virtuous people." Its purpose is the ...

and had been a member of the Acorn Club. Smith died at his home in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, on December 2, 2022, at the age of 89.

Publications

Smith authored over 200 articles, book reviews and essays in ''

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 ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy a ...

'', and various historical journals. He also published six books: * ''Britain's Clandestine Submarines: 1914-1915'' (1964) * ''American Diplomacy in the Second World War'' (1966) * ''The Aims of American Foreign Policy'' (1969) * ''Dean Acheson'' (1972) * ''Morality, Reason and Power: American Diplomacy in the Carter Years'' (1990) * ''The Last Years of the Monroe Doctrine: 1945-1993'' (1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gaddis 1932 births 2022 deaths History of the foreign relations of the United States Yale College alumni Pingry School alumni Yale University alumni American maritime historians Historians from New Jersey Writers from Newark, New Jersey People from Summit, New Jersey Yale Faculty of Arts and Sciences