Gordon Prange: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 14:40, 26 June 2024

Gordon William Prange (/præŋ/;^[1] July 16, 1910 – May 15, 1980) was the author of several World War II historical manuscripts which were published by his co-workers after his death in 1980. Prange was a professor of history at the University of Maryland from 1937 to 1980 with a break of nine years (1942–1951) of military service in the United States Navy during World War II, and in the postwar military occupation of Japan, when he was the Chief Historian on General Douglas MacArthur's staff.^[2] It was during this time that Prange collected material from and interviewed many Japanese military officers, enlisted men, and civilians, with the information later being used in the writing of his books. Several became New York Times bestsellers, including At Dawn We Slept, The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor and Miracle at Midway.

Prange's 1963 Tora! Tora! Tora!, published in the November and December issues of Reader's Digest, and later expanded into At Dawn We Slept, portrayed the attack on Pearl Harbor, and is credited as the basis for the screenplay of the film Tora! Tora! Tora!, which was produced in 1970, while Prange took a leave of absence from the University of Maryland to serve as the technical consultant during its filming. His extensive research into the attack on Pearl Harbor was the subject of a Public Broadcasting Service television program in 2000, Prange and Pearl Harbor: A Magnificent Obsession, and was acclaimed "a definitive book on the event" by The Washington Post.^[3]

Prange was a popular lecturer at the University of Maryland. The Terrapin, the university's yearbook, said of his World War I and World War II history classes: "Students flock to his class and sit enraptured as he animates the pages of twentieth century European history through his goosesteps, 'Sieg Heils', 'Achtungs', machine gun retorts and frantic gestures".^[4]

Personal life

Gordon William Prange was born on July 16, 1910, in Pomeroy, Iowa. His parents were Al, a blacksmith and his wife Johanna.^[5] He had one older brother Russell. He attended Pomeroy High School, where he excelled in baseball and track athletics. He was also known as the class clown.^[5] He graduated from Pomeroy in 1928 and enrolled at the University of Iowa intending to become a coach, but switched to history. He obtained his bachelor's degree, his master's degree in 1934, and doctorate in 1937. He studied at the University of Berlin in 1935 to 1936, during which he said: "I saw Hitler operate firsthand and heard him speak a number of times."^[5]

Family

In 1937 he married Anne Root, a professor's daughter from Iowa City. They had two daughters and a son. They moved to Maryland, where Prange took employment as a history instructor at the University of Maryland.^[5]

Death

Prange died on May 15, 1980, in Baltimore, Maryland, from cancer, aged 69. 'Prange Park' in Pomeroy is named after him.^[5]

Selected bibliography

Gordon W. Prange (1963), Tora! Tora! Tora!, in Reader's Digest, November and December issues.

All below by Gordon W. Prange, with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon:

At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor (1981), ISBN 0-07-050669-8
Miracle at Midway (1982), ISBN 0-07-050672-8
Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy Ring (1984), ISBN 0-07-050677-9 in which the authors detail the undercover operations of the spy ring headed by Richard Sorge and Hotsumi Ozaki that conveyed highly-secret information from Tokyo to the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1941
Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History (1986), ISBN 0-07-050668-X
December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor (1988), ISBN 0-07-050682-5
God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (1990), ISBN 0-08-037440-9

References

^ "The Gordon W. Prange Collection: Saving Hidden History, Japan 1945-1949". Gordon W. Prange Collection. February 19, 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
^ "Press Release: February 20, 2002 Exhibit of UM Prange Materials to Open at Hornbake Library" (Press release). University of Maryland Libraries. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
^ "What to Watch". The Washington Post. December 3, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
^ Terrapin 1964. College Park, Md.: University of Maryland.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Longden, Tom. "Gordon W. Prange". Data Central. Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2014-03-31.

External links

The Gordon W. Prange Collection (in English and Japanese) at the University of Maryland
Prange, Gordon W.
Gordon W. Prange papers, at the University of Maryland libraries

[1] "The Gordon W. Prange Collection: Saving Hidden History, Japan 1945-1949". Gordon W. Prange Collection. February 19, 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 17, 2020.

[2] "Press Release: February 20, 2002 Exhibit of UM Prange Materials to Open at Hornbake Library" (Press release). University of Maryland Libraries. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

[3] "What to Watch". The Washington Post. December 3, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-10.

[4] Terrapin 1964. College Park, Md.: University of Maryland.

[desmoine-obit-5] Longden, Tom. "Gordon W. Prange". Data Central. Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2014-03-31.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American historian}}
 [[Image:Gordon Prange.jpg|thumb|upright|Professor Prange teaching his history class at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] in 1964]]
-'''Gordon William Prange''' (July 16, 1910 – May 15, 1980) was the author of several [[World War II]]-historical manuscripts which were published by his co-workers after his death in 1980. Prange was a Professor of History at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] from 1937 to 1980 with a break of nine years (1942–1951) of military service overseas, and in the postwar era of military occupation of [[Japan]], when he was the Chief Historian in General [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s staff.<ref>{{cite web|title=Press Release: February 20, 2002 Exhibit of UM Prange Materials To Open at Hornbake Library|url=http://www.lib.umd.edu/PUB/PUBLICATIONS/Pressreleases/press022202.html|publisher=University of Maryland Libraries|accessdate=31 July 2013|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20120623110054/http://www.lib.umd.edu/PUB/PUBLICATIONS/Pressreleases/press022202.html|archivedate=23 Jun 2012}}</ref> It was during this time that Prange collected material from and interviewed many Japanese military officers, enlisted men, and civilians, with the information later being used in the writing of his books. Several became ''[[New York Times]]'' [[New York Times Best Seller list|bestsellers]], including ''[[At Dawn We Slept, The Untold Story Of Pearl Harbor|At Dawn We Slept]]'' and ''[[Miracle at Midway]]''.
+'''Gordon William Prange''' ({{IPAc-en|p|r|æ|ŋ}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyas4sBtvqw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/iyas4sBtvqw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=The Gordon W. Prange Collection: Saving Hidden History, Japan 1945-1949|publisher=Gordon W. Prange Collection|date=February 19, 2018|accessdate=February 17, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> July 16, 1910 – May 15, 1980) was the author of several [[World War II]] historical manuscripts which were published by his co-workers after his death in 1980. Prange was a professor of history at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] from 1937 to 1980 with a break of nine years (1942–1951) of military service in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]], and in the postwar military occupation of [[Japan]], when he was the Chief Historian on General [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s staff.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Press Release: February 20, 2002 Exhibit of UM Prange Materials to Open at Hornbake Library|url=http://www.lib.umd.edu/PUB/PUBLICATIONS/Pressreleases/press022202.html |publisher=University of Maryland Libraries |accessdate=31 July 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623110054/http://www.lib.umd.edu/PUB/PUBLICATIONS/Pressreleases/press022202.html |archivedate=23 June 2012}}</ref> It was during this time that Prange collected material from and interviewed many Japanese military officers, enlisted men, and civilians, with the information later being used in the writing of his books. Several became ''[[New York Times]]'' [[New York Times Best Seller list|bestsellers]], including ''At Dawn We Slept, The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor'' and ''Miracle at Midway''.
-Prange's  1963 ''Tora!  Tora!  Tora!'', published in the November and December issues of ''Reader's Digest'', and later expanded into ''At Dawn We Slept:  The Untold Story Of Pearl Harbor'', portrayed the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], and is credited as the basis for the screenplay of the film ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!]]'', which was produced in 1970, while Prange took a leave of absence from the University of Maryland to serve as the technical consultant during its filming. His extensive research into the attack on Pearl Harbor was the subject of a [[Public Broadcasting Service]] television program in 2000, "Prange and Pearl Harbor: A Magnificent Obsession", and was acclaimed "a definitive book on the event" by  ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=What to Watch|publisher=The Washington Post|date=December 3, 2006|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112801400_pf.html|accessdate=2007-12-10 }}</ref>
+Prange's 1963 ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'', published in the November and December issues of ''[[Reader's Digest]]'', and later expanded into ''At Dawn We Slept'', portrayed the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], and is credited as the basis for the screenplay of the film ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!]]'', which was produced in 1970, while Prange took a leave of absence from the University of Maryland to serve as the technical consultant during its filming. His extensive research into the attack on Pearl Harbor was the subject of a [[Public Broadcasting Service]] television program in 2000, ''Prange and Pearl Harbor: A Magnificent Obsession'', and was acclaimed "a definitive book on the event" by ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=What to Watch|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 3, 2006|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112801400_pf.html|accessdate=2007-12-10 }}</ref>
+Prange was a popular lecturer at the University of Maryland. The ''Terrapin'', the university's [[yearbook]], said of his World War I and World War II history classes: "Students flock to his class and sit enraptured as he animates the pages of twentieth century European history through his goosesteps, 'Sieg Heils', 'Achtungs', machine gun retorts and frantic gestures".<ref>{{cite book|title=Terrapin 1964|publisher=University of Maryland|location=College Park, Md.}}</ref>
 == Personal life ==
-Gordon William Prange was born on July 16, 1910, in [[Pomeroy, Iowa]]. His parents were Al, a blacksmith and his wife Johanna.<ref name=desmoine-obit/> He had one older brother Russell. He attended Pomeroy High School where he excelled in baseball and track athletics. He was also known as the class clown.<ref name=desmoine-obit/> He graduated from Pomeroy in 1928 and enrolled at the [[University of Iowa]] intending to become a coach, but switched to history. He obtained his bachelor's degree, his Masters in 1934, and Doctorate in 1937. He studied at the [[University of Berlin]] in 1935 to 1936, during which he said: "I saw Hitler operate firsthand and heard him speak a number of times,"<ref name=desmoine-obit/>
+Gordon William Prange was born on July 16, 1910, in [[Pomeroy, Iowa]]. His parents were Al, a blacksmith and his wife Johanna.<ref name=desmoine-obit/> He had one older brother Russell. He attended Pomeroy High School, where he excelled in baseball and track athletics. He was also known as the class clown.<ref name=desmoine-obit/> He graduated from Pomeroy in 1928 and enrolled at the [[University of Iowa]] intending to become a coach, but switched to history. He obtained his bachelor's degree, his master's degree in 1934, and doctorate in 1937. He studied at the [[University of Berlin]] in 1935 to 1936, during which he said: "I saw Hitler operate firsthand and heard him speak a number of times."<ref name=desmoine-obit/>
 === Family ===
-In 1937 he married Anne Root, a professor's daughter from [[Iowa City]]. They had two daughters and a son. They moved to Maryland where Prange took employment as a history instructor at the University of Maryland.<ref name=desmoine-obit/>
+In 1937 he married Anne Root, a professor's daughter from [[Iowa City]]. They had two daughters and a son. They moved to Maryland, where Prange took employment as a history instructor at the University of Maryland.<ref name=desmoine-obit/>
 === Death ===
-Prange died on May 15, 1980 in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] from cancer. He was 69. 'Prange Park' in Pomeroy is named after him.<ref name=desmoine-obit>http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/gordon-w-prange</ref>
+Prange died on May 15, 1980, in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], from cancer, aged 69. 'Prange Park' in Pomeroy is named after him.<ref name=desmoine-obit>{{cite news|last=Longden|first=Tom|title=Gordon W. Prange|work=Data Central|publisher=[[Des Moines Register]]|url=http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/gordon-w-prange|access-date=2014-03-31|archive-date=2014-03-31|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140331214407/http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/gordon-w-prange|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 ==See also==
 * [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]]
 * [[Events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor]]
@@ Line 22: / Line 25: @@
 * Gordon W. Prange (1963), ''Tora!  Tora!  Tora!'', in ''Reader's Digest'', November and December issues.
 All below by Gordon W. Prange, with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon:
-*''At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor'' (1981), ISBN 0-07-050669-8
+*''At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor'' (1981), {{ISBN|0-07-050669-8}}
-*''Miracle at Midway'' (1982), ISBN 0-07-050672-8
+*''Miracle at Midway'' (1982), {{ISBN|0-07-050672-8}}
-*''Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy Ring'' (1984), ISBN 0-07-050677-9 in which the authors detail the undercover operations of the spy ring headed by [[Richard Sorge]] and [[Hotsumi Ozaki]] that conveyed highly-secret information from Tokyo to the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1941
+*''Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy Ring'' (1984), {{ISBN|0-07-050677-9}} in which the authors detail the undercover operations of the spy ring headed by [[Richard Sorge]] and [[Hotsumi Ozaki]] that conveyed highly-secret information from Tokyo to the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1941
-*''Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History'' (1986), ISBN 0-07-050668-X
+*''Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History'' (1986), {{ISBN|0-07-050668-X}}
-*''December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor'' (1988), ISBN 0-07-050682-5
+*''December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor'' (1988), {{ISBN|0-07-050682-5}}
-*''God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor'' (1990), ISBN 0-08-037440-9
+*''God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor'' (1990), {{ISBN|0-08-037440-9}}
 ==References==
@@ Line 33: / Line 36: @@
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.lib.umd.edu/prange/index.jsp The Gordon W. Prange Collection] {{en icon}} and {{ja icon}} at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]
+*[http://www.lib.umd.edu/prange The Gordon W. Prange Collection] {{in lang|en|ja}} at the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]]
-*[http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/99999999/FAMOUSIOWANS/608270355/Prange-Gordon-W-  Prange, Gordon W.]
+*[https://archive.today/20130121153507/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/99999999/FAMOUSIOWANS/608270355/Prange-Gordon-W-  Prange, Gordon W.]
+*[https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/2/resources/1160 Gordon W. Prange papers], at the [[University of Maryland Libraries|University of Maryland libraries]]
 {{Authority control}}
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              = Prange, Gordon William
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American writer
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = July 16, 1910
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
-| DATE OF DEATH     = May 15, 1980
-| PLACE OF DEATH    =
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Prange, Gordon William}}
 [[Category:1910 births]]
 [[Category:1980 deaths]]
 [[Category:American military writers]]
-[[Category:World War II historians]]
+[[Category:Historians of World War II]]
 [[Category:Attack on Pearl Harbor]]
 [[Category:Douglas MacArthur]]
@@ Line 57: / Line 52: @@
 [[Category:University of Iowa alumni]]
 [[Category:People from Calhoun County, Iowa]]
-[[Category:Writers from Iowa]]
 [[Category:Writers from Maryland]]
-[[Category:20th-century historians]]
+[[Category:20th-century American historians]]
-[[Category:20th-century American writers]]
+[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
+[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Maryland]]
+[[Category:Historians from Iowa]]
+[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]

Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	Norway France BnF data Germany Israel Belgium United States Japan Czech Republic Australia Netherlands
Academics	CiNii
People	Trove
Other	SNAC IdRef