Whitney Smith
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Whitney Smith PhD LF FF FFI FVAST |
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Smith in 2007
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| Born |
February 26, 1940 Arlington, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 2016 (aged 76) Peabody, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | US |
| Occupation | Vexillologist |
| Years active | 1961–2013 |
| Organization | The Flag Research Center |
| Known for |
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| Notable work | The Flag Bulletin, The Flag Book of the United States, and Flags Through the Ages and Across the World |
Whitney Smith Jr. (February 26, 1940 – November 17, 2016) was a professional vexillologist and scholar of flags. He originated the term vexillology, which refers to the scholarly analysis of all aspects of flags. He was a founder of several vexillology organizations. Smith was a Laureate and a Fellow of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations.
In 1961, Smith and colleague Gerhard Grahl cofounded The Flag Bulletin (ISSN 0015-3370), the world's first journal about flags. The following year, Smith established The Flag Research Center and was its director.
Smith worked with Klaes Sierksma to organize the First International Congress of Vexillology (Muiderberg, Netherlands) in 1965. They joined Louis Mühlemann in founding the International League of Vexillologists and were members of its Governing Board on September 5, 1965, and operated until September 3, 1967. The league was replaced by the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (known by its French acronym FIAV) with Smith as vice-president of the Provisional Council as of September 3, 1967. In 1969, Smith moved from being FIAV Provisional Council vice-president to being the first Secretary-General of FIAV. Smith was also responsible for founding the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) and the Flag Heritage Foundation. On August 28, 1981, he was elected the second Secretary-General for Congresses, ending his multiple terms as FIAV Secretary-General. Smith served in that office until he returned to the FIAV Secretary-General position on September 29, 1983.
On July 5, 1991, Smith was named by the FIAV a Laureate of the Federation and left the office of FIAV Secretary-General. He was give the honor of Fellow of the Federation on July 27, 2001. He transferred The Flag Research Center's library and archives in 2013 to The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. On November 17, 2016, Smith died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 76.
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