Robert J. Cressman holds a BA (1972) and an MA (1978) in history from the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., and has spent his entire career as a historian within the Department of the Navy. Now with the Fleet History Section of the History & Archives Division, Histories Branch, Naval History & Heritage Command, he is currently the editor and a principal contributor to the on-line Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. His The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II received a John Lyman Book Award in 1999, while the Admiral Arthur W. Radford Award in 2008 recognized his body of work in the history of U.S. Naval Aviation. In addition to the Chronology, he has authored books on the aircraft carrier Ranger (CV-4), Yorktown (CV-5), and the Battle for Wake Island, and has coauthored books on the Battle of Midway and the Spanish-American War, as well as a continuing series of tactical studies on aspects of the Pearl Harbor Attack. He has also written over 80 articles. He also has appeared on the History and Discovery Channels, War Stories with Oliver North (Fox), and consulted on the script for the motion picture Ghosts of the Pacific.
