Richard William Leopold (6 January 1912 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– 23 November 2006 in

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) was a prominent diplomatic and military historian at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Early life and education

The second son of Harry Leopold, Sr., and Ethel Kimmelstiel, Richard Leopold grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan. He attended the Franklin School before attending

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

in 1926, where he graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1929. He then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, graduating

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with highest honors in 1933. After Princeton, he studied at Harvard under

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Sr. (; February 27, 1888 – October 30, 1965) was an American historian who taught at Harvard University, pioneering social history and urban history. He was a Progressive Era intellectual who stressed material caus ...

, receiving his master's degree in 1934 and a Ph.D. in 1938. The book based on his dissertation, ''Robert Dale Owen'' (Harvard University Press, 1940), a study of the Indiana congressman and utopian socialist, won the

John H. Dunning Prize The John H. Dunning Prize is a biennial book prize awarded by the American Historical Association for the best book in history related to the United States. The prize was established in 1929, and is regarded as one of the most prestigious national h ...

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 ...

. During World War II, he was commissioned as a naval officer and assigned to the Office of Naval Records and Library in Washington, where he devised system to organize the reports and materials relating to the ongoing naval operations.

Academic career

After his release from active service 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 ...

, he returned to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for two years and then joined the history faculty of

in 1948, where he spent the remainder of his career. In 1963, he was appointed William Smith Mason Professor of History at Northwestern and served in that position until he retired 31 August 1980. Among the prominent students whom Leopold influenced in their careers were Sen.

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

(D-S.D.), former Rep.

Richard Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House Majority Leader fro ...

(D-Mo.), Rep. James Kolbe (R-Ariz.), former assistant secretary of state Phyllis E. Oakley, historian

John Morton Blum John Morton Blum (; April 29, 1921 – October 17, 2011) was an American historian, active from 1948 to 1991. He was a specialist in 20th-century American political history, and was a senior advisor to Yale officials. Life and career Blum was bo ...

, journalist

Georgie Anne Geyer Georgie Anne Geyer (April 2, 1935 – May 15, 2019) was an American journalist who covered the world as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Daily News and then became a syndicated columnist for the Universal Press Syndicate. Her columns focus ...

, and television and motion picture director

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play ''The Odd Co ...

. Leopold served on numerous governmental advisory committees, including the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Committee on Naval History, The Department of State Historical Advisory Committee, The

Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee The Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee was established in January 1947 within the United States Army. In 1996, it was made a subcommittee of the Department of Defense Historical Advisory Committee. History The Department of the Ar ...

Atomic Energy Commission's Historical Advisory Committee The Atomic Energy Commission's Historical Advisory Committee was established in February 1958, when the United States Atomic Energy Commission was a decade old and continued until 1974 when the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) ...

, CIA Historical Review Panel and

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. He was a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee for the ''Papers of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

'' and of the board of directors for the

Harry S. Truman Library The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and resting place of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States (1945–1953), his wife Bess and daughter Margaret, and is located on U.S. Highwa ...

Institute. He was president of the

Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) was founded in order to “promote excellence in research and teaching of American foreign relations history and to facilitate professional collaboration among scholars and students ...

in 1970 and of the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

in 1976. In 1984, the

established the Richard W. Leopold Prize, which is awarded biannually. In 1990, former students of Professor Leopold's established the annual Richard W. Leopold Lectureship at Northwestern in his honor. In 1997,

endowed the Richard W. Leopold Professorship in American history.

Published works

* ''Robert Dale Owen: A Biography'' (1940; 1969) *''Elihu Root and the Conservative Tradition'' (New York: Little, Brown, 1954) * ''Problems in American History'', edited with

Arthur S. Link Arthur Stanley Link (August 8, 1920 in New Market, Virginia – March 26, 1998 in Advance, North Carolina) was an American historian and educator, known as the leading authority on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Early life Born in New Market ...

, Stanley Coben, ''et al.''(Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1952, 1957, 1966, 1972). * ''The Growth of American Foreign Policy: A History'', (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962, 1968). * ''Joint AHA-OAH Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate the Charges Against the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Related Matters.'' (Washington: American Historical Association, 1970).

References

* Northwestern University Library catalogue
Northwestern University news release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold, Richard W. 1912 births 2006 deaths Writers from New York City Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Princeton University alumni Harvard University alumni Northwestern University faculty 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers United States Navy officers Historians from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers Presidents of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations