John Haskell Kemble (1912–1990) was a professor of history at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

and an influential American maritime historian.

Early life and education

The son of Ira Oscar Kemball and his wife, Caroline Haskell, John Haskell Kemble was born on 17 June 1912 in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

. He received his bachelor of arts degree at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1933, his master's degree and Ph.D. from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1934 and 1937.

Academic career

In 1936, he joined the faculty at

, where he remained for his entire career. He was promoted to full professor in 1951 and appointed professor emeritus in 1977. During World War II, he served in 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 ...

from 1941 to 1946, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. Kemble was a

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, 1947–48; Visiting lecturer in history at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, 1948–49. In 1952–53, he held the academic post at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, which the following year was named the

Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History In May 1948, the President of the Naval War College Admiral Raymond Spruance recommended a plan to establish a civilian professorship of maritime history at the Naval War College. Approved by Secretary of the Navy John L. Sullivan (Navy) on 29 Dec ...

. He was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1956–57. In 1967, he was visiting professor of history at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Kemble served as secretary-treasurer of the Pacific Coast branch of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

in 1941–42 and 1945–49. In addition, he was a member of the California Historical Resources Commission in 1976–79. He served as president of the Historical Society of Southern California in 1967–70. A founding member 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 ...

, he served as a vice president from 1975 to 1990. He served as a member of the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Committee on Naval History, from 1961. A close associate of Professor Robert G. Albion, Kemble was one of the original faculty members of the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History at

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

, where Kemble House is named for him. He died on 19 February 1990 and his papers were deposited at the

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...

Published works

* '' Side-Wheelers Across the Pacific'' (1942) * ''The Panama Route, 1848–1869'' (1943) * ''San Francisco Bay: A Pictorial Maritime History'' (1957) * ''Journal of a Cruise to California and the Sandwich Islands, 1841–1844'' by William D. Myers, edited by J. H. Kemble (1955) * ''Two Years Before the Mast'' by Richard Henry Dana Junior, edited by J. H. Kemble (1964) * ''To California and the South Seas: The Diary of Albert G. Osbun, 1849–1851'' edited by J. H. Kemble (1966) * ''Sketches of California and Hawaii, 1842–1843'' by William H. Meyers, edited by J. H. Kemble (1970) * ''A Naval Campaign in the Californias, 1846–1849'' edited by J. H. Kemble

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemble, John H. 1912 births 1990 deaths People from Marshalltown, Iowa American maritime historians Stanford University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Pomona College faculty Naval War College faculty Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History faculty 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Historians from Iowa Historians from California American male non-fiction writers United States Navy personnel of World War II