go to war? Out of fear, honor, and interest.' Well, everybody knows interest, and fear is very credible. Nobody takes honor seriously." Kagan believes honor – better understood as "prestige" – was crucial in beginning World War I, for example. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded Kagan the National Humanities Medal in 2002, and selected him to deliver the 2005 Jefferson Lecture. Kagan titled his lecture "In Defense of History"; he argued that history is of primary importance in the study of the humanities. In his The New Yorker review, George Steiner said of Kagan's four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War: "The temptation to acclaim Kagan's four volumes as the foremost work of history produced in North America in this century is vivid." Until his retirement in 2013, Kagan was Sterling Professor of Classics and History at Yale University. His "The Origins of War" was one of Yale's most popular courses for twenty-five years, and was the basis of a book he published in 1995. Over an even longer timespan he taught "Introduction to Ancient Greek History", and upper level History and Classical Civilization seminars focusing on topics from Thucydides to the Lacedaimonian hegemony. Personal life and family Kagan married Myrna Dabrusky in 1954. They met while studying at Thomas Jefferson High School together, and remained married for 62 years until her death in 2017. Together, they had two children: Robert and Frederick. Kagan died on August 6, 2021, at a retirement home in Washington, D.C. He was 89 years old. Positions held 1987–1988 Acting Director of Athletics, Yale University 1989–1992 Dean, Yale College Works Kagan, Donald. (1965). The Great Dialogue: A History of Greek Political Thought from Homer to Polybius. New York: Free Press. Kagan, Donald. (1969). The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. . Kagan, Donald. (1974). The Archidamian War. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. . Kagan, Donald. (1981). The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. . Kagan, Donald. (1987). The Fall of the Athenian Empire. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Kagan, Donald. (1991). Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy. New York: The Free Press. . Kagan, Donald. (1995). On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace. New York: Doubleday. . Kagan, Donald and Kagan, Frederick. (2000). While America Sleeps. New York: St. Martin's Press. . Kagan, Donald, Craig, Albert M., Graham, William A., Ozment, Steven,