Four Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award

Four individuals have reached an impressive milestone in their careers by earning the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Lifetime Achievement Award from Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), officials announced June 18.

The Commodore Dudley W. Knox Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual for a lifetime body of work in the field of U.S. naval history. The award is named for Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (1877 -1960), a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College. Knox had a distinguished career as a naval officer with service in the Spanish American War, Boxer Rebellion, Great White Fleet, and World War I. But, it was his abilities as a historian, librarian, and archivist that earned him respect and admiration amongst his peers and later generations. For a quarter of a century, his leadership inspired diligence, efficiency, and initiative while he guided, improved, and expanded the Navy’s archival and historical operations.

The 2014 awardees are John Hattendorf, Craig Symonds, Bill Dudley and Harold D. Langley.

Hattendorf has had a distinguished 26 year career at the Naval War College where he has built a reputation as a world leading scholar in Anglo-American naval history. In addition to numerous honors that he has received for his scholarship, he has been a leader in numerous maritime and military heritage organizations such as the North American Society for Oceanic History.

Symonds, a prolific naval historian, is recognized as one of the country’s leading scholars on the Civil War, in general, as well as for his continuing contributions to American naval history in many periods. He started his career at the Naval War College in 1971 and then went on to spend 30 years at the Naval Academy. Retiring in 2005, he came back as the Class of 1957 Distinguished Professor of Naval Heritage for 2011-2012

Bill Dudley served at the Naval Historical Center, rising up to become the Senior Historian and then the Director of Naval History. His area of expertise has been early American Naval History and the proliferation of books on the war of 1812 was aided by his compilation of the Naval Documents of the War of 1812 series. He has mentored the current generation of NHHC scholars and he has been a leader in several history organizations such as the North American Society for Oceanic History and Society for History in the Federal Government.

Harold D. Langley retired from the Smithsonian Institution in 1996 after a twenty-six year career there as a curator of naval history. His path-breaking work was Social Reform in the U.S. Navy, 1798-1862, which gave us deck plate history of enlisted life in the 19th Century. He too has received numerous awards and has been involved in several heritage societies.

The Naval History and Heritage Command, located at the Washington Navy Yard, is responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage. It provides the knowledge foundation for the Navy by maintaining historically relevant resources and products that reflect the Navy’s unique and enduring contributions through our nation’s history, and supports the Fleet by assisting with and delivering professional research, analysis, and interpretive services.

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Press Release, June 19, 2014; Image: US Navy