Whitney Smith
Encyclopedia
Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb...
. He continues to serve as its director and as editor of its bimonthly journal The Flag Bulletin (ISSN 0015-3370).
Biography
Whitney Smith was born in Arlington, MassachusettsArlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. He received his AB from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and his MA and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. He was instructor and assistant professor of political science at Boston University from 1964 to 1970.
Smith worked with Klaes Sierksma to organize the First International Congress of Vexillology (Muiderberg, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) in 1965. They joined Louis Mühlemann in founding the Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques
Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques
The Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques is an international federation of 55 regional, national, and multinational associations and institutions across the globe that study vexillology, which FIAV defines in its constitution as "the creation and development of a body of...
or International Federation of Vexillological Associations, known by its acronym—FIAV, which was formally inaugurated in 1969. Smith was also responsible for founding the North American Vexillological Association
North American Vexillological Association
The North American Vexillological Association is a membership organization devoted to "vexillology as the scientific study of flags." Flag researchers, designers, collectors, activists, merchants, and other enthusiasts from the United States and Canada meet annually at NAVA meetings in order to...
(NAVA) in 1967.
Smith has written 27 books on the subject of flags, notably Flags Through the Ages and Across the World, The Flag Book of the United States, and Flag Lore of all Nations. Smith was the designer of the national flag of Guyana
Flag of Guyana
The flag of Guyana, known as The Golden Arrowhead, has been the national flag of Guyana since May 1966 when the country became independent from the United Kingdom...
and has served as a vexillographer (flag designer) to a number of governments and organizations. In 1981, Smith was part of a committee who developed the flag of Bonaire
Flag of Bonaire
The flag of Bonaire has a large blue triangle in the lower right corner and a smaller yellow triangle in the upper left corner. It was adopted on 11 December 1981....
.
NAVA's annual Whitney Award for outstanding contribution to North American vexillology is named in Smith's honor.