Harold Keith Johnson Chair

The General Harold Keith Johnson Chair was established at the U.S. Army Military History Research Collection, the nucleus of the collection consisted of 50,000 bound volumes, transferred from the Army War College and National War College and housed in Upton Hall. Among its first manuscript acquisitions were the extensive official and personal papers of General Johnson himself, who donated them to the Military History Research Collection upon his retirement from the Army.

Johnson served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1964–1968. During his term, he approved a recommendation to establish at Carlisle Barracks a library and a repository of documents to encourage the study of military history. Initially designated the U.S. Army Military History Research Collection, the nucleus of the collection included 50,000 bound volumes, transferred from the Army War College and National War College. Among its first manuscript acquisitions were the extensive official and personal papers of Johnson himself, who donated them to the Military History Research Collection upon his retirement from the Army. The collection's holdings expanded rapidly during the 1970s and began to draw serious researchers from across the country; in 1972 an annual visiting professor position was created, with Theodore Ropp of Duke University as its first holder.[1]

In 1977 Military History Research Collection was renamed the U.S. Army Military History Institute (USAMHI). The following year, the annual visiting professor position was designated the Harold Keith Johnson Chair in Military History. Although configured as a scholar-in-residence program, in practice most holders of the chair assumed informal roles within the Army War College itself, engaging with student seminar groups and teaching elective courses. In 2006 the chair was transferred from the USAMHI to the War College itself. It is today controlled by the dean of academics and housed administratively in one of the college's three academic departments, currently the Department of National Security and Strategy (DNSS).[1]