Richard M. Watt
Born
Richard Martin Watt

November 10, 1930
La Grange, Illinois, United States
DiedJanuary 25, 2015(2015-01-25) (aged 81–82)
Montclair, New Jersey, United States
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Historian
  • Writer

Richard M. Watt (November 10, 1930 – January 25, 2015) was an American historian and writer.

Biography

Richard Martin Watt was born on November 10, 1930, in La Grange, Illinois, United States.[1][2] Watt attended Glen Ridge High School in Essex County, New Jersey, before reading English at Dartmouth College, graduating in the class of 1952.[1] After graduating, Watt was commissioned as an ensign and spent three years serving in the United States Navy.[1]

In 1963, Watt published his first book, Dare Call It Treason: The True Story of the French Army Mutinies of 1917.[3]

Watt published his second book, The Kings Depart: The Tragedy of Germany: Versailles and the German Revolution in 1968.[4]

In 1979, he published his third book, Bitter Glory, Poland and Its Fate, 1918–1939. The New York Times praised the book for telling a "dramatic tale dramatically" and delivering 'forceful' portraits and 'sound' judgments, but described Watt's concern for historical context or analysis as "remarkably modest".[5] Anna M. Cienciala in the Slavic Review, broadly praised the work, describing it as a "well-written and well-balanced study of interwar Poland", but was critical of Watt's writings on foreign policy.[6]

Watt was a long-term supporter of and donor to the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America.[2]

Watt died on January 25, 2015, at Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, New Jersey.[1]

Publications

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Richard Martin Watt '52". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Hanover, New Hampshire. June 2015. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Richard M. Watt nie żyje" [Richard M. Watt is dead]. Nowy Dziennik. Garfield, New Jersey. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  3. ^ Schmitt, Hans A. (September 1964). "Dare Call It Treason. Richard M. Watt". The Journal of Modern History. University of Chicago Press. 36 (3): 356–357. doi:10.1086/239470. Archived from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  4. ^ Plumb, J. H. (March 9, 1969). "The Kings Depart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Stern, Fritz (October 28, 1979). "Exemplary Poland". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  6. ^ Cienciala, Anna M. (1981). "Bitter Glory: Poland and Its Fate 1918 to 1939". Slavic Review. Cambridge University Press. 40 (2): 301–302. doi:10.2307/2496977. JSTOR 2496977. S2CID 164387582. Archived from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
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