VANDIVER, Frank E(verson) 1925-2005

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born December 9, 1925, in Austin, TX; died January 7, 2005, in College Station, TX. Historian, educator, college administrator, and author. Vandiver was a president emeritus of Texas A & M University and an authority on military history, especially the American Civil War. Too young to serve in the military during World War II, he worked in the civil service as a historian in San Antonio, Texas, and then for the U.S. Air Force as an historian in Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Texas after the war, where he completed a master's degree in 1949. This was followed by a Ph.D. from Tulane University in 1951. His first academic job was as assistant professor of history at Washington University. Then, in 1955, he joined the Rice University faculty, becoming a full professor of history in 1958 and Harrison Masterson, Jr., Professor of History in 1965. In addition, he chaired the history and political science departments in 1962 and again chaired the history department from 1968 to 1969. The next year he served as acting president; during the 1970s he was provost, and from 1975 until 1979 he was vice president. Vandiver's college administrative skills led to his becoming president of North Texas State University in 1979. From 1981 until 1988 he led Texas A & M University, retiring as president emeritus. Among his publications are Ploughshares into Swords: Josiah Gorgas and Confederate Ordnance (1952; new edition, 1994), Basic History of the Confederacy (1962), The Long Loom of Lincoln (1987), and 101 Things Everyone Should Know about World War II (2002).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, January 10, 2005, section 4, p. 9.

Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2005, p. B11.

New York Times, January 15, 2005, p. A13.