At its September 20th conference at the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Historical Foundation awarded Dr. David Curtis Skaggs, professor emeritus of history at Bowling Green State University, its Commodore Dudley W. Knox Award for his significant contributions to naval history.

 

At a diner following a naval history conference in Annapolis, MD, Dr. Skaggs received the Knox medal in recognition of his “record of scholarship and teaching” involving books relating to the War of 1812 on the Great Lakes which “are characterized by eminent readability and impeccable scholarship.” Of the thirteen books he’s written and edited, six particularly relate to the naval conflict on the North American lakes. These include authoring A Signal Victory: The Lake Erie Campaign, 1812-13 (1997), Thomas Macdonough (2003), Oliver Hazard Perry (2006) and editing and introducing The Sixty Years’ War for the Great Lakes, 1754-1814 (2001).

 

Dr. Skaggs received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas, 1959 &1960. He received a Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1966. He was a professor at Bowling Green from 1965 to 2001.