John Curtis Perry

John Curtis Perry
Professor John Perry in a lecture in 2013
Born	(1930-07-18) July 18, 1930 (age 86) Orange, New Jersey
Other names	ペリー, ジョン・カーティス
Residence	Ipswich, Massachusetts
Citizenship	United States
Fields	East Asian studies, Maritime studies
Institutions	Carleton College Connecticut College The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Alma mater	Yale University (A.B.) Yale University (M.A.) Harvard University (Ph.D.)
Thesis	Great Britain and the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1858-1905 (1962)
Doctoral advisor	Edwin O. Reischauer Robert G. Albion
Other academic advisors	George Vernadsky
Doctoral students	Sung-Yoon Lee
Notable awards	Imperial decoration of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan)
Spouse	Sarah Hollis French
Children	5

John Curtis Perry also known as John Perry (born 18 July 1930) is an East Asian and Oceanic studies professor and historian. He is the Henry Willard Denison Professor of History at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He was also the director of that school's Maritime Studies program and founding president of the Institute for Global Maritime Studies, until his retirement in 2014.

Perry has written several history books and articles, on topics including Pacific Asia-US relations, the American occupation of Japan, and American expansionism toward the Pacific Ocean. His writing style has been characterized for artfully conveying history to the general reader with pith, wit, and clarity. The Japanese government awarded him the Imperial decoration of the Order of the Sacred Treasure for his contributions to US-Japan relations.

Perry's latest book Singapore: Unlikely Power, which explores the implausibility of Singapore's success, was published in January 2017.

Perry attended Friends schools in Washington, DC and New York City, subsequently going to Yale College for his bachelor's degree in Chinese Studies, graduating in 1952. At Yale he also pursued a master of arts in Foreign Area Studies.

Later, he attended Harvard University for his PhD in history, concluding in 1962 with his thesis Great Britain and the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1858-1905. His doctoral advisors were Edwin O. Reischauer, a japanologist, and Robert G. Albion, a maritime historian; both the leading scholars in their fields at the time.

From 1962 until 1966, Perry was Assistant Professor of History at Connecticut College, and from 1966 to 1980, he was Assistant Professor, Professor of History, and Director of the East Asian Studies Program at Carleton College. In 1980, he joined the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, becoming the Henry Willard Denison Chair of History in 1981.