Donald Mackenzie Schurman (September 2, 1924 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

– June 16, 2013 in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

)Obituary, ''Times Colonist''
/ref> was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

naval historian Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be ...

. He was a professor of history at Queen's University,

, and also served at the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

. In the Festschrift published in his honor in 1997, the editors hailed Schurman as the "founder of the serious study of naval history in Canada".

Early life and education

The son of Bertrand Lloyd Schurman, a civil servant and veteran of the First World War, and his wife, Mabel P. Mackenzie, Schurman lived a relatively quiet childhood. That would change when he joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

and became a flying officer in 1945. He served in 429 “Bison” Squadron participating in night raids over Germany, serving as a wireless operator and gunner. After demobilisation, he attended

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

, where he earned his bachelor of arts degree in 1949. Going on to graduate studies at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, he completed his Ph.D. in history in 1955 with a thesis on ''Imperial defence, 1868–1887''.

Career

Schurman began his work as a historian of the British Empire, but this topic became unpopular as a scholarly subject so Schurman translated his interest in imperial history to naval history. His 1965 book 'The Education of a Navy: The Development of British Naval Strategic Thought, 1867-1914' (London: Cassell, 1965), focused on the development of strategic thinking in the Royal Navy, creating a new approach to the subject that linked naval thinkers and their personalities with British imperial naval policy and strategy. It also resurrected the memory of British naval historian Sir

John Knox Laughton Sir John Knox Laughton (23 April 1830 – 14 September 1915) was a British naval historian and arguably the first to delineate the importance of the subject of Naval history as an independent field of study. Beginning his working life as a math ...

. He followed this with a biography of the important strategic naval thinker Sir

Julian Corbett Sir Julian Stafford Corbett (12 November 1854 at Walcot House, Kennington Road, Lambeth – 21 September 1922 at Manor Farm, Stopham, Pulborough, Sussex) was a prominent British naval historian and geostrategist of the late 19th and ea ...

. Schurman's research on this subject had a profound effect on the study of naval history in Canada, and influenced a new generation of naval historians in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1972, Schurman joined with John Matthews, professor of English at Queen's University to start a search for the letters of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

as a sabbatical project. Their success in tracking down many previously undiscovered manuscript letters led to the establishment in 1975 of th
Disraeli Project
They were joined in their effort by Professor J. A. W. Gunn, head of the Political Science Department at Queen's. Professor Matthews was appointed senior editor, and Schurman joined in editing the first two volumes of the project. When the funding ended, after the first two volumes, the project became dormant, but has since then continued on the foundation that Matthews and Schurman initially laid.

Published works

* ''Catalogue of the Corbett papers'', compiled by Brian Tunstall; assisted by Peter M. Stanford and D.M. Schurman. (1958) * ''The Education of a Navy: The Development of British Naval Strategic Thought, 1867-1914''. (

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

, 1965
read online
* ''Julian S. Corbett, 1854-1922 : Historian of British Maritime Policy from Drake to Jellicoe''. (1981) * ''Benjamin Disraeli Letters, Volume One: 1815–1834'', ed. J. A. W. Gunn, John Matthews, Donald M. Schurman, and M. G. Wiebe (1982). * ''Benjamin Disraeli Letters, Volume Two: 1835–1837'', ed. J. A. W. Gunn, John Matthews, Donald M. Schurman, and M. G. Wiebe (1982). * ''A Bishop and his People: John Travers Lewis and the Anglican Diocese of Ontario, 1862-1902''. (1991) * ''Imperial Defence, 1868-1887'' ¨by Donald Mackenzie Schurman; edited by John Beeler. (2000)

Contributions

* A. M. J. Hyatt, ed., ''From Dreadnought to Polaris'' (1973) * 'Historians and Britain's Imperial Strategic Stance in 1914', in John E. Flint and

Glyndwr Williams Glyndwr Williams (1932–24 January 2022) was a professor of history at Queen Mary, University of London since 1974, specialising in the history of exploration and the history of Europe overseas. He was appointed a professor emeritus of the Uni ...

, eds. ''Perspectives of Empire: Essays Presented to Gerald S. Graham'', (1973) * Gerald Tulchinsky, ed., ''To Preserve and Defend'' (1976) * Gerald Jordan, ed., ''Warfare in the Twentieth Century''. (1977) * 'Julian Corbett's Influence on the Royal Navy's Perception of its Maritime Function,' in

James Goldrick Rear Admiral James Vincent Purcell Goldrick, (8 August 1958 – 17 March 2023) was an Australian naval historian, analyst of contemporary naval and maritime affairs, and a senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Following his reti ...

and

John Hattendorf John Brewster Hattendorf, FRHistS, FSNR, (born December 22, 1941) is an American naval historian. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than fifty books, mainly on British and American maritime history and naval warfare. In ...

eds., ''Mahan is Not Enough: The Proceedings of a Conference on the Works of Sir

and Admiral Sir

Herbert Richmond Admiral Sir Herbert William Richmond, (15 September 1871 – 15 December 1946) was a prominent Royal Navy officer, described as "perhaps the most brilliant naval officer of his generation." He was also a top naval historian, known as the "Br ...

'' (1993) * 'Introduction' by

and D. M. Schurman' in

Julian S. Corbett Sir Julian Stafford Corbett (12 November 1854 at Walcot House, Kennington Road, Lambeth – 21 September 1922 at Manor Farm, Stopham, Pulborough, Sussex) was a prominent British naval historian and geostrategist of the late 19th and earl ...

, ''Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05''. (1994) * 'Imperial Naval Defence: The and Now' in K. Neilson and E.J. Errington, eds., ''Navies and Global Defence'' (1995)

Festschrift

* ''Far-flung lines: essays in imperial defence in honour of Donald Mackenzie Schurman'', edited by Greg Kennedy and Keith Neilson. (1997)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schurman, D.M. Canadian naval historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge 2013 deaths 1924 births Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston Acadia University alumni Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Canadian Air Force officers