People
John A. Lynn
Absolutism and armies in France, 1600-1789; the formation of revolutionary armies, 1792-1796
Office: Harris Hall #202
Phone: (217) 778-7333
E-mail: j-lynn
northwestern.edu
John A. Lynn II (PhD UCLA, 1973), Distinguished Professor of Military History, is half-time faculty in the History Department, where he teaches classes during fall quarters and works with students one-on-one throughout the year. Before coming to Northwestern, he taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he won several teaching prizes, including the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2001). His most recent scholarship explores new themes in the history of war and military institutions. Women, Armies, and Warfare in Early Modern Europe (2008) describes the lives and contributions of the multitude of women who accompanied armies into the field, 1500-1815. Battle: A History of Combat and Culture (2003, rev. ed. 2004), discusses the role of cultural preconceptions and practices in shaping warfare. He has also written The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714 (1999), Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715 (1997), and The Bayonets of the Republic: Motivation and Tactics in the Army of Revolutionary France, 1791-94 (1984 and 1996). His edited volumes include Feeding Mars: Logistics in Western Warfare from the Middle Ages to the Present (1993) and The Tools of War: Ideas, Instruments, and Institutions of Warfare, 1445-1871 (1990). He is now exploring the phenomenon of surrender across time and cultures. John Lynn served as president of the United States Commission on Military History (2003-2007) and vice-president of the Society for Military History (2005-2007). He holds the orders of the Palmes Academiques from the French government and the Wissam al Alaoui from His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco.
