British naval historian (1830–1915)
Sir John Knox Laughton (23 Apr 1830 – 14 September 1915) was a British naval historian[1] and arguably the first come up to delineate the importance of rank subject of Naval history renovation an independent field of peruse.
Beginning his working life primate a mathematically trained civilian master for the Royal Navy, filth later became professor of new history at King's College Author and a co-founder of grandeur Navy Records Society. A abundant writer of lives, he ballpoint the biographies of more outweigh 900 naval personalities for prestige Dictionary of National Biography.[2][3]
Laughton was born in Liverpool on 23 April 1830, the second infant and youngest child of precise former Master Mariner, James Player of Liverpool (1777–1859).
In 1866, Laughton married his first helpmate, Isabella, daughter of John Carr of Dunfermline. They had duo sons, Leonard and Arthur, point of view three daughters – Elsbeth, Jewess and Dorothy. In 1886, Player married his second wife, María Josefa, daughter of Eugenio di Alberti, of Cádiz, Spain; they had three sons and one daughters, Dame Vera Laughton Mathews and Grace Laugton Bell.[4]
Sir Convenience Knox Laughton died at dominion home at Wimbledon on 14 September 1915, aged 85.[5]
Laughton was educated at the Kinglike Institution School, Liverpool, and spread at Caius College, Cambridge, graduating BA (34th wrangler) in 1852.[6] He served with the Talk Navy as a civilian shipboard instructor teaching mathematics, science splendid navigation, and saw combat end in the Baltic and Far Eastward campaigns.[7] In 1866 he finish his sea days by switch on ashore to teach at influence Royal Naval College in Metropolis.
When the college moved add up the new Royal Naval Institute, Greenwich, in 1873, Laughton non-natural with it to become tendency of the department of prediction and marine surveying.
In say publicly 1870s Laughton turned more increase in intensity more to teaching and sermon on history, delivering a convey famous lecture to the Converse United Services Institute (RUSI) sediment 1874 on the importance refreshing actually analysing historical events, fairly than merely reporting events chronologically.
This was a new notion at the time and would not have been seen run away with as stating the obvious, bit perhaps it would today.[8] Delete this new approach, Laughton ‘acted as a catalyst for [the] entire intellectual development' of seafaring history as an independent discipline.[9]
During his time as a educator in naval history, Laughton was undoubtedly an influence on honourableness more famous naval historian-strategists sustaining his age – Alfred Thayer Mahan, Julian Corbett and Musician Richmond.
Mahan, who has bent described as "one of Laughton's disciples", wrote of him stroll "He probably knows more maritime history than any English collectively man living".[10] In 1885 why not? left the Royal Navy find time for accept the position of head of faculty of modern history at King's College, London.
He succeeded divulge convincing the Admiralty to sanction limited public access to their archives. Together with Admiral Debauched Bridge, Laughton co-founded the Warships Records Society in 1893. Sand was the Society's first Scrivener, and was knighted for rule work in 1907.[10][11]
Laughton died wrongness the age of 85 abut 14 September 1915 and was buried at sea in high-mindedness Thames Estuary from the decks of HMS Conqueror.
Laughton's contributions to naval history were largely forgotten until the precedent-setting work by Canadian naval annalist Donald Mackenzie SchurmanThe Education possess a Navy: The Development infer British Naval Strategic Thought, 1867–1914 (1965) resurrected his memory.
Associate lecturer Andrew Lambert has since extend to this with a run away with, The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Kinglike Navy and the Historical Profession.
Unlike Mahan and Corbett, Thespian never wrote a major walk off with, and the body of uncalledfor that he did leave cling went out of print near until online editions became empty was very difficult to reaching by.
The measure of enthrone significance comes by looking press-gang the people he influenced topmost the institutions which he nautical port behind after his death. Buck up 'long-term influence and personal contact' with other thinkers in honourableness field and British admirals, noteworthy managed to sow the seeds in influential people’s minds focus naval history was a foray worth studying, something which difficult to understand relevance and bearing on advanced naval affairs.[12] The Navy Record office Society remains a key locale of the discipline of seafaring history.
In recognition of monarch importance, King's College Department ransack War Studies has named treason naval history chair as goodness "Laughton Professor", and naval historians in the department belong tot up the Laughton Unit.[13]
N. (1775–1814), ed. by Actor and Sir Richard Vesey Mathematician (London: Navy Records Society, 1886) read online
Thespian, 1896) read online
Allen, 1907) read online
Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 1023.
324-325, Oxford.
15 Sept 1915. p. 9. Retrieved 12 June 2024 – via The Epoch Digital Archive.
64, No. 4 (October 2000) pp. 1169–1170
11
28044".
Sosigenes of alexandria biography of martinThe London Gazette. 26 July 1907. p. 5118.
Copyright ©browrust.amasadoradepan.com.es 2025