Corbett, Sir Julian Stafford

Person

Corbett, Sir Julian Stafford

1854-1922

Julian Stafford Corbett (1854-1923) was born Thames Ditton, England. He was educated at Marlbourough and Trinty College, Cambridge and gained a degree in law. Corbett belonged to the historical school of strategy that rejected the technological determinism of the material school; he examined the past conduct of competing nations in order to understand all historical forces at work and the various alternative appraoaches to strategic problems. Despite the fact that he was a civilian, the authoritative way in which he dealt with his themes communicated itself not only to the public but to the Naval Service. He became the unofficial historical advisor to the Admiralty and lectured at the Naval War College at Greenwich in 1900. At the beginning of World War I Corbett was selected by the Committee of Imperial Defence to write the official naval history. Corbett's great aim was to attempt a marriage between principles and history without sacrificing historical accuracy or the requirements from research in depth. His final, and most important book, Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, drawing on many years of research, codified all of his thoughts on strategy.His other books include England on the Mediterranean (1904), England in the Seven Years War (1907), and Canpaign of Trafalger (1910).

Draft

• English