Howard Henry Peckham, (July 13, 1910 – July 6, 1995) was a professor and historian and an authority on colonial and early American history who published a number of works on those subjects. His academic career encompassed a wide variety of involvements in educational institutions and various historical societies. Peckham played a fundamental role in establishing professional academic standards for the management of historical manuscripts and historical society work in the 20th century that have endured to this day. He was a founding member of the Society of American Archivists and the Director of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan. Peckham and his associate, Lloyd A. Brown, were the first historians to publish the American Revolutionary War journals of Henry Dearborn, in 1939, making them available to the general public for the first time. He is also noted for establishing more accurate numbers of American Revolutionary War deaths, which were much greater than previously assumed. Early life and education Howard Henry Peckham was a native of Lowell, Michigan. He grew up in a typical small American town—his family having emigrated from New England and New York. Peckham's father, on his way in establishing a successful business career, died when Howard was an infant. After graduating from Lowell High School, Peckham first attended Olivet College, then transferred to the University of Michigan just as the Great Depression began. American history was one of his main interests, but English was his greatest enthusiasm. Peckham earned his B.A. degree in 1931 and his M.A. in English in 1933. In 1936 he married Dorothy Koth Peckham, with whom he had a son and daughter. His wife, also a lover of books, had considerable academic and literary abilities herself. When Peckham was diagnosed with diabetes in mid career, Dorothy's culinary ability and vigilant eye minimized the effects on his daily routine and allowed him to perform throughout the remainder of his life. Academic career Peckham was an alumnus of the University of Michigan. As an undergraduate, he worked as a student reporter for The Michigan Daily newspaper and began his association with the William Clements Library in 1929. Returning to his home town of Lowell, Peckham began his literary career as an editorial writer for The Grand Rapids Press. In 1935, on a chance return visit to Ann Arbor and Michigan University, Randolph G. Adams, the Clements Library's first director who