Dr. John Thornton

Biography

John Thornton received his PhD in African history in 1979 and has held positions at the University of Zambia, Allegheny College, and the University of Virginia before joining Millersville University in 1986 and later the Boston University faculty in fall 2003. His specializations include Africa Atlantic History and world history. He is the author of several notable works including 'Kingdom Kongo: Civil War Transition, 1641-1718' (1983), 'Africa and Africans in the Formation of the Atlantic World, 1400-1680' (1992), and 'Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706' (1998). His publication 'Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800' (1999) adds significant insights into the military history of the region. In 2007, he published 'Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas', which won the Melville J. Herskovits Prize that year. His latest work, 'Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1350-1820' (2012), received the World History Association’s Prize for New Book in World History in 2012.

Research Interests