John W. Shy *61

At the age of 91, John died April 8, 2022, in Saline, Mich.

John was born March 23, 1931, in Dayton, Ohio. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952, he served in the airborne infantry in Japan. John earned a master’s degree from the University of Vermont in 1957 and a Ph.D. in history from Princeton in 1961. 

He taught at Princeton until 1968, when he moved to the history department at the University of Michigan, retiring in 1996. 

John’s scholarship focused on early American history, the history of war, European history from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, as well as contemporary history. His book, Toward Lexington: The Role of the British Army in the Coming of the American Revolution, received the American Historical Association’s John H. Dunning Prize. 

Visiting professorships included the U.S. Army War College, the École Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, and as the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford. He served on the Department of the Army’s Historical Advisory Committee.

Predeceased by his first wife and their son Timothy, John is survived by his wife, Arlene, daughters Elizabeth and Jennifer; and four grandchildren.

Graduate Alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.