Theodore Ropp (1911–2000) was an American historian who served as a professor at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Academic career

Theodore Ropp's first teaching position was as an instructor in history at

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 ...

in 1937–38. In 1938,

appointed him instructor in history. Remaining at Duke for the remainder of his career, he was appointed professor in 1959 and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1980. Ropp first became well known through his contribution to Edward Mead Earle's widely used book ''Makers of Modern Strategy'', published in 1943. His chapter was on "Continental doctrines of seapower". Ropp's expertise was in wide demand as one of the few American civilian academics working in military and naval history. He served as 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 ...

at the

U.S. 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 ...

from 1962 to 1963. He undertook special research on compulsory military service and military conscription in the British Commonwealth. He was a member of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, in 1962–65, 1969–72. He served as director, Policy Advisory Committee, Historical Evaluation and Research Organization, from 1963, then served as chairman of the board from 1965. He was professor U.S. Military History Research Collection at the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...

in 1972–73; visiting professor of military history

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, 1976–77; visiting professor,

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

, 1980;

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

Australia, 1980, and the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, 1980. In 1982–84, he was visiting professor at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. In 1991, 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 ...

Published works

* ''Continental Doctrines of Seapower'' in Edward M. Earle, ed., ''Makers of Modern Strategy'', (Princeton University Press, 1943). * ''Historical Background of the World Today: A Synopsis''. Edited by Theodore Ropp with Harold T. Parker. (Rinehart, 1947). * ''War in the Modern World'', (Duke University Press, 1959, revised edition, Collier, 1962, new revised edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000). * ''Festschrift for Frederick B. Artz'', edited by Theodore Ropp with David H. Pinkney (Duke University Press, 1964). * ''The Historical Development of Contemporary Strategy'', (U.S. Air Force Academy, 1970). * ''History and War'', (Hamburg Press, 1984). * ''The Development of a Modern Navy: French Naval Policy, 1871-1904'', by Theodore Ropp, edited by Stephen S. Roberts, (Naval Institute Press, 1987).

Sources

* Gale ''Contemporary Authors'' * Obituary

'
Ropp Family Bible

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ropp, Theodore People from Illinois 1911 births 2000 deaths American naval historians American military historians Duke University faculty Naval War College faculty Harvard University alumni 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers