1935
Born in Fall River, Massachusetts to Horace James and Anne Lyne.
1958
Receives a Bachelor of Arts in history from Amherst College and a Master of Arts in history from Stanford University in 1961.
1962
Becomes political officer for the American Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
1965
Receives a Doctor of Philosophy in history from Stanford University.
1965
Becomes a political officer for the American Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam.
1966
Becomes a vice counsel for the American Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand
1967
Becomes section head for South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia with the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State.
1970
Receives a Superior Performance Award from the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State.
1971
Becomes deputy chief mission at the U.S. Embassy in Libreville, Gabon.
1973
Becomes a congressional intern through the American Political Science Association Congressional Internship Program.
1975
Becomes deputy chief mission at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, Algiers.
1977
Becomes a senior seminar in national and international affairs with the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State.
1978
Becomes office director for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, Bureau of east Asia, U.S. Department of State.
1980
Becomes deputy chief mission at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia.
1984
Receives a Superior Performance Award from the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia.
1984
Becomes deputy chief mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
1985
Becomes diplomat-in-residence and adjunct professor at the Center for International Relations of Boston University.
1986
Receives the Presidential Meritorious Honor Award of Service in U.S. Embassy
1987
Becomes the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana, and is named Diplomat of the Year in Ghana.
1990
Becomes a professor of history and international relations at Boston University.