1941
John Brewster Hattendorf is born in Hinsdale, Illinois to William Homer Hattendorf and Dorothy Jane Hattendorf, and is raised by his parents in Western Springs, Illinois.
1964
John B. Hattendorf receives a Bachelor of Arts in history from Kenyon College.
1965
John B. Hattendorf is commissioned in the U.S. Navy, rising in the ranks to lieutenant and receiving a commendation for combat action in destroyers during the Vietnam War.
1970
John B. Hattendorf receives a diploma from the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime History in Mystic, Connecticut.
1971
John B. Hattendorf receives a Master of Arts in history from Brown University.
1977
The Naval War College appoints John Hattendorf assistant professor of strategy.
1979
Professor Hattendorf receives a Doctor of Philosophy in modern history from the University of Oxford.
1981
Professor Hattendorf serves as visiting professor of naval and military history at the National University of Singapore.
1984
As the principal author of “Sailors and Scholars: The Centennial History of the Naval War College,” John Hattendorf is named Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History.
1997
Kenyon College awards Professor Hattendorf an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, while serving as chairman of the Advanced Research Department at the Naval War College.
2000
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, United Kingdom awards Professor Hattendorf the Caird Medal.
2003
The Naval War College appoints Professor Hattendorf chairman of the Maritime History Department and director of the Naval War College Museum.
2008
The American Library Association awards the Dartmouth Medal to Professor Hattendorf as editor-in-chief of “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History.”
2011
The Naval War College establishes the Hattendorf Prize for Distinguished Original Research in Maritime History in honor of Professor Hattendorf.
2016
The University of Oxford awards Professor Hattendorf a Doctor of Letters. The Oxford “Strategy and the Sea” conference papers are published as a festschrift in honor of John Hattendorf.
2016
The Secretary of the Navy awards Professor Hattendorf the Navy’s Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, which is presented by the Chief of Naval Operations.
2016
The Naval War College promotes Professor Hattendorf to Ernest J. King Professor Emeritus of Maritime History.
2017
President of the Naval War College, Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harley, establishes the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research in honor of Professor Hattendorf.
2017
The Society of Nautical Research in the United Kingdom awards Professor Hattendorf its first Anderson Medal for Lifetime Achievement.
2018
The Under Secretary of the Navy appoints Professor Hattendorf senior mentor in the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research at the Naval War College.