John Mason Kemper (September 1, 1912 – December 4, 1971) was a military historian and the 11th

Headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

, serving for 23 years, from 1948 to 1971. Kemper was born at Fort D.A. Russell in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

into a military family. He graduated high school from Western High School in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(Spring 1972)
John Mason Kemper (obituary)
''Assembly'' (Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy) p. 137 In 1931, he started at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, and graduated in 1935.(16 October 1948)
Phillips Andover Installs Kemper
''

The 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 ...

'', p. 17 (paywall) Kemper later returned to West Point to teach history, and obtained a master's degree in history from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1942. He was serving in the historical division of the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel when he was selected to be headmaster of Andover in 1948—the first chosen from outside the faculty ranks of the school in over 70 years. In the Army, Kemper had led the service's

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 program branch; the program today is now the

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

.(14 March 1945)
Col. John M. Kemper Gets Legion of Merit for Historial Work
''

The Evening Star ''The Evening Star'' is a 1996 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Harling, adapted from the 1992 novel by Larry McMurtry. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film ''Terms of Endearment'' starring Shirley MacLaine, who r ...

'', p. B10(22 December 1947)
Found in the Pentagon
''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''Stewart, Lori S. (16 November 2022)
Military intelligence sheds its historical branch
Dvids (U.S. Department of Defense publication)

, Retrieved 6 December 2022 In 1951, Kemper convinced the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

and

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

to join in what became the

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

program offering college level courses to high school students. Kemper also sought to dispel the view that private schools like Andover were "training grounds for snobs", and worked to diversify the student body.(6 December 1971)
John Kemper, Headmaster to Andover, Is Dead at 59
''

'', p. 42 Kemper was featured on the cover of the October 26, 1962 issue of ''

''.(26 October 1962)
Education:Well Begun Is Half Done
''

'' In October 1971, at age 59, he announced his resignation, due to illness. He soon after died of cancer in December 1971, and is buried at the Phillips Academy Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemper, John Mason 20th-century American educators Heads of Phillips Academy Andover 1912 births 1971 deaths American military historians United States Military Academy alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Cheyenne, Wyoming People from Andover, Massachusetts