Donald D. Horward Papers

Dr. Donald Horward, a native of Pennsylvania, received his B.A. at Waynesburg College, his M.A. from Ohio University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.  He joined the faculty at Florida State University (FSU) in 1961.  Since his arrival on campus, over 16,000 students have been introduced to Napoleon and the French Revolution in his classes through the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution.  Graduate students were quickly attracted to the field and by 1963 the first master's degree was awarded. Three years later, the first Ph.D. graduated in Napoleonic history from FSU.

Dr. Horward was awarded the Distinguished Professorship in Military History at West Point and  taught  over  6,000  cadets  there. He also held  the  Edwin Conquest  Eminent Scholar Chair at Virginia Military Institute and taught hundreds of cadets in Lexington.He has written or contributed over  twenty  volumes  and  almost  sixty articles in scholarly journals, delivered  over 200  papers  and  throughout  the  U.S.and  Europe,  and  his contributions have been recognized by decorations from six countries.

A total of 101 doctorates and M.A. theses were completed under Dr. Horward's direction, making FSU the most prolific center for the study of Napoleon in the U.S. A unique aspect of the Institute program has been its relationship with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  Seventeen officers, destined for the history faculty at West Point, have been trained in the Napoleonic period at the Institute.  This is particularly appropriate since a large segment of the Military Art Course, required of all cadets, focuses on Napoleon and his system of operations.

Dr. Horward was the recipient of the first university-wide teaching award, and received five additional awards for excellence in teaching, including the title of Distinguished Teaching Professor.  He lectured at universities throughout the U.S., the Smithsonian on several occasions, and gave presentations in Europe at such universities as Frederick Schiller University in Germany, Charles University and Masaryk Universities in the Czech Republic, Cambridge University and Southampton University in England, the University of Budapest in Hungary, and the Borodino/Mazajsk Center, Russia.

In 1998, Dr. Ben Weider established at Florida State University the first chair devoted to the Napoleonic period in the U.S. and Dr. Horward was designated as the first chair holder. Dr. Weider also established a chair in the French Revolution and four scholarships for the study of Napoleon  at  FSU.  Soon thereafter, Baron  Roger Jomini,  descendent  of Napoleon's famous strategist, contributed funds  for  student scholarships. Dr. Proctor Jones provided substantial support for student grants to do research in Paris,and generous scholarships were established by Dr.Skip Vichnessand  Dr.George  Knight, graduatesof the Napoleonic program  at  FSU.

For  his  work  in  the  Napoleonic period,  Dr. Horward  was  decorated  by the  French, American,  and  Portuguese and recognized  by  the  Czech  Republic  and  Spanish governments.  He waselected to the  Portuguese Academy of History in1991 and named a Grand Officer of theOrder  of Infante  Dom Henrique (Prince Henry the Navigator).  In 2001, he was honored  by the  Napoleonic Alliance as the first John Elting Scholar "for his extraordinary contributions to the study of Napoleonic History."  He received  the Renaissance  Francaise  Award in 2010, but his most distinguished award was given by France, The Legion of Honor,  in full ceremony at West  Point in 2002.

Much of the current research on Napoleon in the United States has been carried out by Dr. Horward's former students.This is closely related to his success in amassing the volumes of the Napoleon Collection at  FSU and his influential role in sustaining and expanding the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe. In addition to the thousands of  students he has taught in his graduate and  undergraduate classes at FSU,  the U.S.Military Academy at  West  Point, and other universities, his former students have introduced thousands of their students throughout the United States to the Napoleonic era.

After 44 years of distinguished service, Dr. Horward retired in 2005. The Institute and its students, the Napoleon and French Revolution Collection, the Ben Weider Endowment opportunities, and a series of other fellowships comprise a rich legacy - one that Florida State University is proud to share with its community of scholars.

The Napoleon and French Revolution Collection at Florida State University

The creation and growth of the French Revolution and Napoleon Collection at Florida State University was a direct result of Dr. Horward’s efforts. In 1961 there were some 250 volumes in the collection. As a result of his 28 trips to Europe doing research  and searching for books, as of late 2012 the collection includes over 20,000 volumes, some from such renowned collections as those of King Ernest August of Hanover and Achille Murat, King of Naples. It is among the most extensive in the country. The Collection attracts students and scholars from through the U.S. and Europe.

Of the 48 Ph.D.s and 52 M.A.s based primarily on the Napoleon and French Revolution Collection at FSU,as of late 2012, 42 books have been published and almost a thousand articles have been produced in scholarly journals.  Doctoral students who have completed their research in the Napoleon Collection have taught at scores of universities and colleges from California  to  New York.  Six of their volumes have been awarded the International  Book Prize of the International Napoleonic Society for the  best book published in Napoleonic history in a particular year.

The Collection has provided the basic research and degrees for fifteen officers who have taught Military Art and Napoleonic history at theUnited States Military Academy,West Point. Many have taught at the US Command and Staff College at Fort Levenworth, Kansas, the Army Command College at the Von BraunCenter, Huntsville, Alabama, the Naval Post Graduate School at Monterey, California, the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, and the Air ForceCommand  and StaffCollege in Montgomery,  Alabama.  Others have occupied senior command positions in Rome, Afghanistan, Iraq,and South Korea as well as throughout the United States. In addition, the Napoleon Collection has proved to be a significant source of strategic, logistical, and tactical  information for officers who taught tens of thousandsof cadets at West Point.

Scholars from throughout the United States and Europe have traveled to FSU to work in the Napoleon Collection to complete their research, contributing to hundreds of publications. Inaddition, the Collection became the basis of  the  most  complete  bibliography on Napoleon and the French Revolution that exist in any language by one of our graduates. Oneof Dr. Horward’s students, Major Mike Bonura, published a  volume with NYU Press in 2012, Under theShadow of Napoleon, which traces  the extraordinary impact the Napoleonic system of  War has had upon the American military system, from President Thomas Jefferson to the onslaught of the Nazi Blitzkrieg in 1940.

Note written by Burt Altman, C.A., University Librarian/Archivist