David Syrett


David Syrett was an American academic who was Distinguished Professor of History at Queens College, City University of New York in Flushing, New York, and a researcher and documentary editor on eighteenth-century British naval history and the Battle of the Atlantic during World War Two. He taught at Queens College from 1966 until he died in 2004.

Early life and education

David Syrett "was part of a family of historians." His father Harold Syrett and his brother John Syrett were also historians. His influential father, the well-known historian of the early American republic, was the editor of the Papers of Alexander Hamilton. David Syrett's second wife, Elena Frangakis-Syrett, specialized in economic history. He was born in White Plains, New York and graduated from Columbia University in 1961. After completing his M.A. at Columbia in 1964, he earned his doctorate at the University of London in 1966. David Syrett's doctoral dissertation was entitled Shipping and the American War.

Academic affiliations

New York Military Affairs Symposium, President, 1990–2004

Published works

Shipping and the American war, 1775-83 : a study of British transport organization The siege and capture of Havana, 1762 The Lost war: letters from British officers during the American Revolution edited and annotated by Marion Balderston and David Syrett; introduction by Henry Steele Commager The Royal Navy in American waters 1775-1783 The commissioned sea officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815, edited by David Syrett and R.L. DiNardo The defeat of the German U-boats: the battle of the Atlantic The battle of the Atlantic and signals intelligence : U-boat situations and trends, 1941-1945 The Royal Navy in European waters during the American Revolutionary War