Alan Allport, professor of history, has been named the Dr. Walter Montgomery and Marian Gruber Professor of History at the Maxwell School.

The professorship was established by Walter Montgomery ’67 B.A. (PSc) and his wife, Marian Gruber. Montgomery said he created it out of “deep appreciation for the importance to our education system of teaching, research and scholarship.”

Allport’s research interests include 20^th-century British history with a focus on the first and second world wars. His recent book, "Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War: 1938-1941" (Knopf Doubleday, 2020), was awarded the Historical Writers' Association 2021 Crown Award for nonfiction.

Previous books, published by Yale University Press, include: "Browned Off and Bloody-Minded: The British Soldier Goes to War 1939-1945" and "Demobbed: Coming Home After the Second World War," for which Allport received the Longman History Today Book of the Year Award.

“Alan is a brilliant writer, scholar and teacher,” says Carol Faulkner, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of history. “His books have transformed the understanding of the British experience of World War II. I'm thrilled we can recognize his contributions with the Montgomery Gruber professorship. The Maxwell School is lucky to have him.”

Allport received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007.

He succeeds Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history, who was named the Montgomery Gruber Professor in 2017.