David Syrett (January 8, 1939 in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivisi ...

– October 18, 2004 in

Leonia, New Jersey Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937,Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

, and a widely respected researcher and documentary editor on eighteenth-century British naval history and the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...

during World War Two.

Early life and education

The son of the well-known historian of the early American republic and editor of the ''Papers of Alexander Hamilton'', Harold Syrett (d. 1984), David Syrett was graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1961. After completing his M.A. at Columbia in 1964, he went on the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1966 with a thesis on “Shipping and the American War.

Academic affiliations

New York Military Affairs Symposium The New York Military Affairs Symposium (NYMAS), is an independent, not for profit educational body dedicated to the preservation and furthering of military history in the city of New York. The membership includes scholars, active and retired mili ...

, President, 1990–2004

Published works

* ''Shipping and the American war, 1775-83 : a study of British transport organization'' (1970) * ''The siege and capture of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, 1762'' (1970) * ''The Lost war: letters from British officers during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

'' edited and annotated by Marion Balderston and David Syrett; introduction by

Henry Steele Commager Henry Steele Commager (1902–1998) was an American historian. As one of the most active and prolific liberal intellectuals of his time, with 40 books and 700 essays and reviews, he helped define modern liberalism in the United States. In the 1 ...

(1975) * ''The Royal Navy in American waters 1775-1783'' (1989) * ''The commissioned sea officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815'', edited by David Syrett and R.L. DiNardo (1994) * ''The defeat of the German

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

: the

battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...

'' (1994) * ''The battle of the Atlantic and signals intelligence : U-boat situations and trends, 1941-1945'' (1998) * ''The Royal Navy in European waters during the American Revolutionary War'' (1998) * "The Raising of American Troops for Service in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

during the

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

, 1740-1", ''Historical Research'' Vol. 73, No. 180 (February 2000), pp. 20–32. * ''The Battle of the Atlantic and signals intelligence : U-boat tracking papers, 1941-1947'' (2002) * ''The Rodney papers: selections from the correspondence of Admiral Lord Rodney'' (2005, 2007) * '' Admiral Lord Howe: A Biography'' (2006) * ''Shipping and Military Power in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

: The Sails of Victory'' (2007)

Sources and references

* Obituary, ''The Independent'' (London), 19 January 2005, p. 35 * Obituary, ''New York Times'', 23 October 2004, p. A18 {{DEFAULTSORT:Syrett, David 1939 births 2004 deaths American naval historians American male non-fiction writers Columbia College (New York) alumni Alumni of the University of London Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People from White Plains, New York Historians from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers