Gordon William Prange (; July 16, 1910 – May 15, 1980) was the author of several

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

from 1937 to 1980 with a break of nine years (1942–1951) of military service in the

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during

, and in the postwar military occupation of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, when he was the Chief Historian on General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

's staff. 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'', and later expanded into ''At Dawn We Slept'', portrayed the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, 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 The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...

television program in 2000, ''Prange and Pearl Harbor: A Magnificent Obsession'', and was acclaimed "a definitive book on the event" by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. Prange was a popular lecturer at the University of Maryland. The ''Terrapin'', the university's

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of Annual publication, a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually ...

, 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".

Personal life

Gordon William Prange was born on July 16, 1910, in Pomeroy, Iowa. His parents were Al, a blacksmith and his wife Johanna. 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. He graduated from Pomeroy in 1928 and enrolled at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

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 The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

in 1935 to 1936, during which he said: "I saw Hitler operate firsthand and heard him speak a number of times."

Family

In 1937 he married Anne Root, a professor's daughter from

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

. They had two daughters and a son. They moved to Maryland, where Prange took employment as a history instructor at the University of Maryland.

Death

Prange died on May 15, 1980, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, from cancer, aged 69. 'Prange Park' in Pomeroy is named after him.

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), *''Miracle at Midway'' (1982), *''Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy Ring'' (1984), 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), *''December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor'' (1988), *''God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor'' (1990),

References

External links

The Gordon W. Prange Collection
at the