Sir Michael Eliot Howard (29 November 1922 – 30 November 2019) was an English

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

, formerly

Chichele Professor of the History of War Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader **Chichele Professorship *Thomas Chichele Sir Thomas Chicheley (25 March 1614 – 1 February 1699) of Wimpole Hall, Cambridg ...

, Honorary Fellow of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, Regius Professor of Modern History at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval 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 wo ...

, and founder of the

Department of War Studies, King's College London The Department of War Studies (DWS) is an academic department in the School of Security Studies within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy at King's College London in London, United Kingdom. Along with other politics and international ...

. In 1958, he co-founded the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...

. Howard was described in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' as "Britain's greatest living historian". ''The Guardian'' described him as "Britain's foremost expert on conflict".

Early life

Howard was born on 29 November 1922 in the village of

Ashmore Ashmore is a village and civil parish in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England, southwest of Salisbury. The village is centred on a circular pond and has a church and several stone cottages and farms, many with thatched roofs. It is ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. He was the youngest son of Geoffrey Howard and Edith (). He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts 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 years ...

(BA) degree in 1946, which was later promoted to

Master of Arts 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 ...

(MA) in 1948. Howard joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

on 4 December 1942. He was given the

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

253901. He fought in the Italian Campaign, serving with the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, and came ashore during the landings at Salerno in September 1943. On 27 January 1944, during the First Battle of Monte Cassino, he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(MC) "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy".

Academic career

After Oxford, Howard began his teaching career at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where he helped to found the Department of War Studies. From his position at King's he was one of Britain's most influential figures in developing strategic studies as a discipline that brought together government, military, and academia to think about defence and national security more broadly and deeply than had been done before. *Assistant Lecturer in History (1947), Lecturer (1950–3),

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in War Studies and finally Professor of War Studies (1953–63), King's College London. *Chichele Professor of History of War (from 1977) and Fellow, All Souls College (from 1968 to 1980). *Regius Professor of Modern History and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford onorary Fellow, 1990(from 1980 to 1989). *Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History, Yale University (from 1989 to 1993). *Quondam Fellow, All Souls College (from 1980 to 2014). *Honorary Fellow, All Souls College (from 2014). He was one of the founders of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. From his family, education, and service in the Guards, he had extensive connections at the higher levels of British society, and he worked them astutely to further his intellectual goals. He had close connections in the Labour Party but was also consulted as an advisor by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

Historical writing

Howard was best known for expanding military history beyond the traditional

campaigns Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bl ...

and

battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

accounts to include wider discussions about the

sociological Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

significance of war. In his account of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Howard looked at how the Prussian and French armies reflected the social structure of the two nations. He was also a leading interpreter of the writings of the Prussian military thinker

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mos ...

, including preparing a translation of ''

On War ''Vom Kriege'' () is a book on war and military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), written mostly after the Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and 1830, and published posthumously by his wife Marie von Brühl in 1832. I ...

'' with the American historian

Peter Paret Peter Paret (April 13, 1924 – September 11, 2020) was a German-born American cultural and intellectual historian, whose two principal areas of research were war and the interaction of art and politics from 18th to 20th century Europe.

. In addition, in both his inaugural and concluding lectures as Regius Professor, and in his popular and influential ''War in European History'', Howard stressed the difference between traditional military history, which seeks to identify easily applicable lessons for the present from the history of past wars and military campaigns, and his own approach, which stresses the uniqueness of the historical past and the impossibility of deriving such lessons to guide modern strategic and tactical choices. In 1985, he delivered the

Huizinga Lecture The Huizinga Lecture (Dutch: ''Huizingalezing'') is an annual lecture in the Netherlands about a subject in the domains of cultural history or philosophy.See. The lecture is in honour of Johan Huizinga, a distinguished Dutch historian (1872–1945) ...

in the Dutch city of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, under the title: ''1945: End of an Era''. Howard helped found the Department of War Studies and the

Liddell Hart Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (31 October 1895 – 29 January 1970), commonly known throughout most of his career as Captain B. H. Liddell Hart, was a British soldier, military historian and military theorist. He wrote a series of military histor ...

Centre for Military Archives at

. He was president emeritus of the

, which he also helped to establish, and a fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

Awards and honours

Howard was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

1977 Birthday Honours The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 11 June 1977 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and Birthday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and ...

and a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the

1986 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

. He was later appointed to the

Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

(CH) for services to military studies in the

2002 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

and to the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

(OM) in 2005. In 1988 he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

. In 1992, he was awarded the

Samuel Eliot Morison Prize 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 ...

for lifetime achievement given by 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 ...

Work

*''The Coldstream Guards, co-written with John Sparrow, 1920–1946'', 1951. *''Disengagement in Europe'', 1958. *''The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870–1871'', 1961. Republished by Methuen, 1981. *''Lord Haldane and the Territorial Army'', 1967. *''The Mediterranean Strategy in the Second World War'', 1967. *''Grand Strategy, August 1942 – September 1943'', Volume IV, Grand Strategy series,

History of the Second World War The ''History of the Second World War'' is the official history of the British contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication, ...

(1970) *''Studies in War and Peace'', 1970. *''The Continental Commitment: The Dilemma of British Defence Policy in the Era of Two World Wars'', 1972. *''War in European History'', 1976 atest revised edition, 2009 *

, ''On War'', 1977, edited and translated by M. E. Howard and

. *''Soldiers and Governments: Nine Studies in Civil Military Relations'', 1978. *''War and the Liberal Conscience'', 1978 ew edition, 2008 *''Restraints on War: Studies in the Limitation of Armed Conflict'', 1979 edited by M. E. Howard. *''Clausewitz'', 1983 riginally a volume in the Oxford University Press "Past Masters" series, reissued in 2000 as ''Clausewitz: A Very Short Introduction'' * ''The Causes of War'' Harvard University Press; 2 edition (1 January 1984) *''Strategic Deception in World War II'', 1990, (Volume 5 of ''British Intelligence in the Second World War;'' series edited by

F. H. Hinsley Sir Francis Harry Hinsley, (26 November 1918 – 16 February 1998) was an English historian and cryptanalyst. He worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War and wrote widely on the history of international relations and British Inte ...

; Cambridge University Press). *''The Lessons of History'', 1989. *''The Laws of War: Constraints on Warfare in the Western World'', edited by M. E Howard, George J. Andrepoulous and Mark R. Schulman. *''The Invention of Peace'', 2000. *''The First World War'', 2003 eissued as ''The First World War: A Very Short Introduction'', 2007 *''Captain Professor: A Life in War and Peace'' (autobiography), 2006 *''Liberation or Catastrophe? Reflections on the History of the 20th Century'', 2007 *''Fighting with Pride LGBT in the Armed Forces, chapter 4, 2019 edited by Craig Jones ''

Notes

References

*Freedman, Lawrence; Hayes, Paul & O'Neil, Robert ''War, Strategy and International Politics: Essays in Honour of Sir Michael Howard'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. Also available as an e-book. * Halewood, Louis, and David Morgan-Owen. "Captains of War: History in Professional Military Education." ''The RUSI Journal'' (2021): 1-9. * Hattendorf, John B. "The Study of War History at Oxford, 1862–1990." in ''The Limitations of Military Power'' (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1990) pp. 3-61. *Skaggs, David Curtis "Michael Howard and the Dimensions of Military History" ''Military Affairs'', Volume 49, 1985. pages 179–183. * Strachan, Hew. "Michael Howard and the dimensions of military history." ''War in History'' 27.4 (2020): 536-551
online

External links

*
Great Thinkers: Hew Strachan FBA on Michael Howard FBA
podcast, The British Academy * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Michael 1922 births 2019 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Coldstream Guards officers Recipients of the Military Cross British historians of espionage Historians of World War I Historians of World War II Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Members of the Order of Merit Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Knights Bachelor LGBT historians People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Editors of the Round Table Journal Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Academics of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Yale University faculty British military writers British military historians British autobiographers Regius Professors of History (University of Oxford) 20th-century British writers 21st-century British writers 20th-century British historians 21st-century British historians Chichele Professors of the History of War Fellows of the Royal Historical Society LGBT people from England Military personnel from Dorset