William M. Fowler
Encyclopedia
William Morgan Fowler, Jr. (born 25 July 1944) is a professor
of history
at Northeastern University, Boston
and an author
. He served as Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society
from 1998 through 2005.
on 25 July 1944, the son of William Morgan, a U.S. Postal employee, and his wife Eleanor, he attended Northeastern University, Boston
, graduating magna cum laude in 1967. He went on to the University of Notre Dame
, where he earned his M.A.
in 1969 and his Ph.D.
in 1971. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1970–84, reaching the grade of Captain. In August 1968, he married Marilyn Louise Noble, an elementary school teacher, and together they had two children. He now lives in Reading, Massachusetts
with his wife and daughter.
, promoted to associate professor in 1977, and full professor in 1980. In addition, he served as acting dean of the college of arts and sciences in 1977, vice provost, 1989–1991, and department chair in 1993-1997, before leaving to become the director of the Massachusetts Historical Society
. He returned to Northeastern on 1 January 2006 after eight years at the society. When he announced that he would leave the President of the Society, Amalie M. Kass, honored him for the positive changes that he accomplished during his tenure. Kass stated, “Bill Fowler brought our Society into a leadership role in the cultural and intellectual life of Boston, the state, and even the nation […] Dr. Fowler has kept this mission at the forefront of his work and we intend to go forward in that spirit."
Fowler also teaches at the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History
at Mystic Seaport Museum
and has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution
, the United States Naval War College, St. John's Preparatory School, and the Sea Education Association
. He is a trustee of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Association, The Paul Revere Memorial Association, and the Old North Church Foundation. He is also a member of the Massachusetts State Archives Advisory Commission and an honorary member of the Boston Marine Society
, as well as a consulting editor to The New England Quarterly
. Currently Sits on Board of Trustees for Bay State College, located in Boston's Back Bay, at 122 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at Northeastern University, Boston
Northeastern University, Boston
Northeastern University , is a private, secular, coeducational research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Northeastern has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments...
and an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He served as Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
from 1998 through 2005.
Early life and education
Born in Clearwater, FloridaClearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
on 25 July 1944, the son of William Morgan, a U.S. Postal employee, and his wife Eleanor, he attended Northeastern University, Boston
Northeastern University, Boston
Northeastern University , is a private, secular, coeducational research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Northeastern has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments...
, graduating magna cum laude in 1967. He went on to the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, where he earned his M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1969 and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1971. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1970–84, reaching the grade of Captain. In August 1968, he married Marilyn Louise Noble, an elementary school teacher, and together they had two children. He now lives in Reading, Massachusetts
Reading, Massachusetts
Reading is an affluent town situated in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, some north of central Boston. The population was 24,747 at the 2010 census.-Settlement and Independence:...
with his wife and daughter.
Academic career
Fowler was appointed an assistant professor in 1971 at Northeastern UniversityNortheastern University, Boston
Northeastern University , is a private, secular, coeducational research university in Boston, Massachusetts. Northeastern has eight colleges and offers undergraduate majors in 65 departments...
, promoted to associate professor in 1977, and full professor in 1980. In addition, he served as acting dean of the college of arts and sciences in 1977, vice provost, 1989–1991, and department chair in 1993-1997, before leaving to become the director of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
. He returned to Northeastern on 1 January 2006 after eight years at the society. When he announced that he would leave the President of the Society, Amalie M. Kass, honored him for the positive changes that he accomplished during his tenure. Kass stated, “Bill Fowler brought our Society into a leadership role in the cultural and intellectual life of Boston, the state, and even the nation […] Dr. Fowler has kept this mission at the forefront of his work and we intend to go forward in that spirit."
Fowler also teaches at the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History
Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History
The Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History was established at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, in 1955 to provide graduate-level summer courses in maritime history. The name was later changed to the Munson Institute of Maritime Studies, to include literature and other aspects in the...
at Mystic Seaport Museum
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
and has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, the United States Naval War College, St. John's Preparatory School, and the Sea Education Association
Sea Education Association
The Sea Education Association is a private, nonprofit educational organization which offers a hands-on experience to college and high school students in sailing at sea. Founded in 1971 by Corwith Cramer, Jr. SEA operates two sailing ships traveling throughout both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
. He is a trustee of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Association, The Paul Revere Memorial Association, and the Old North Church Foundation. He is also a member of the Massachusetts State Archives Advisory Commission and an honorary member of the Boston Marine Society
Boston Marine Society
The Boston Marine Society is a charitable organization in Boston, Massachusetts, formed "to 'make navigation more safe' and to relieve members and their families in poverty or other 'adverse accidents in life.'" Membership generally consists of current and former ship captains...
, as well as a consulting editor to The New England Quarterly
The New England Quarterly
The New England Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal consisting of articles on New England's cultural, literary, political, and social history. The journal contains essays, interpretations of traditional texts, essay reviews and book reviews...
. Currently Sits on Board of Trustees for Bay State College, located in Boston's Back Bay, at 122 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA.
Honors and awards
- Samuel Eliot MorisonSamuel Eliot MorisonSamuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
Distinguished Service Award, USS Constitution MuseumUSS Constitution MuseumThe USS Constitution Museum "serves as the memory and educational voice of , by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of "Old Ironsides" and the people associated with her."...
, 1985.
- Northeastern University Outstanding Alumnus Award, 1994.
- Honorary degreeHonorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
L.H.D., Northeastern University, 2000.
- Sits On Board of Trustees, & Special Committee Member For (Academic & Student Affairs) for Bay State College, 2010.
Published works
- William Ellery: A Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
Politico and Lord of Admiralty (1973)
- Rebels Under Sail: The Navy in the Revolution (1976)
- The American Revolution: Changing Perspectives, edited by Wallace Coyle and William M. Fowler, Jr. (1979)
- The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John HancockJohn HancockJohn Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
(1980)
- Jack Tars and Commodores: The American Navy, 1783-1815 (1984)
- Under Two Flags: The Navy in the Civil War (1990)
- Silas TalbotSilas TalbotSilas Talbot was an officer in the Continental Army and in the Continental Navy. Talbot is most famous for commanding the USS Constitution from 1798 to 1801.-Biography:...
Captain of the Old IronsidesUSS ConstitutionUSS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
(1995)
- Samuel AdamsSamuel AdamsSamuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
: Radical Puritan (1997)
- America and The Sea: A Maritime History by Benjamin W. Labaree, William M. Fowler, Jr., John B. Hattendorf, Edward W. Sloan, Jeffrey J. Safford, and Andrew German, (1998)
- Empires at War: The French and Indian WarFrench and Indian WarThe French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763 (2005)
- America and The Sea: Treasures from the collection of Mystic SeaportMystic SeaportMystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
(co-author) (2005)
- An American Crisis: George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and the Dangerous Two Years After YorktownSiege of YorktownThe Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
, 1781-1783 (2011)
External links
- Homepage at Northeastern University
- The William M. Fowler, Jr. papers, 1976-2000 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.