Jon T. Sumida Obituary

Jon T. Sumida Obituary

The Department of History is saddened by the death of our colleague, Jon Tetsuro Sumida, at the age of  75. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease and died suddenly on February 8, 2025 due to complications of severe pneumonia. Jon  was a distinguished and vigorous scholar of military history, dedicated to archival research, and a well-respected mentor to students. In graduate school, Jon was the principal trumpet for the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and for many years at UMD was part of a musical group that added a celebratory element to Department of History convocations. He won many academic awards in his career, including three Moncado Prizes from the Society for Military History and the Naval History Author of the Year from the US Naval Institute. Jon also enjoyed fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson Center, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and Churchill College, Cambridge University. 

Jon was born in Washington D.C. to parents who were Nisei survivors of the Japanese American WWII incarceration camps. He graduated from Stevenson College, University of California at Santa Cruz, with a BA in History. At Santa Cruz, he was active in organizing against the Vietnam war which ended with an 18-month federal prison term for refusing to be drafted. He also met his future wife, Jan, at Santa Cruz. Jon earned the PhD in British History from the University of Chicago in 1982. In 1980 he had joined the Department of History at the University of Maryland, where he taught for nearly forty years. Jon also lectured frequently at the US.Marine Corps University, the US Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting, the Army War College, the National War College, the US Naval Academy, and other institutions.

Jon Sumida is the author of three monographs: In Defence of Naval Supremacy: Finance, Technology, and British Naval Policy, 1889-1914 (1989/pb 1993); Inventing Grand Strategy and Teaching Command: The Classic Works of Alfred Thayer Mahan Reconsidered (1997/pb 1998); and Decoding Clausewitz: A New Approach to On War (2008/pb 2011)], as well as editor of The Pollen Papers: The Privately Circulated Printed Works of Arthur Hungerford Pollen 1901-1916 (1983). He leaves behind his wife, Janet Day Sumida; his two children, Mad and Lauren Sumida; his sister Julie Sumida; and extended family on both the East and West Coasts of the US.

A Memorial Service will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park in the Garden Chapel on May 18, 2025 from 12 noon to 1pm.