Edward Ezell

Edward Clinton Ezell(7 Nov 1939,Indianapolis, Indiana– 23 Dec 1993,Northern Virginia)was an American author and professor who served as National Firearms Collection curator at theNational Museum of American History,administered by theSmithsonian Institution.He was also founding Director of the Institute for Research on Small Arms in International Security.

Background

Ezell received anA.B.fromButler Universityin 1961 andM.A.from theUniversity of Delawaretwo years later, where he was a Hagley Fellow. In 1969, he received hisPh.D.in the history of science and technology fromCase Institute of Technology.

He taught atNorth Carolina State UniversityandSangamon State University,Springfield, Illinois.

Publications

Ezell created the first oral histories on a pair of respectedassault rifledesigners —Mikhail KalashnikovandEugene Stonerof theAK47andM16respectively. Prior to his stint with the Smithsonian Institution, Ezell was employed by theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration,beginning in 1974, to write about space projects. Publications includeThe Partnership: a history of theApollo-Soyuz Test Project.The co-author,Linda Neuman Ezell,was also involved in writingOn Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet. Other publications include:

• Small Arms of the World
• Personal Firepower
• Combat Handguns(co-authored withGeorge C. Nonte)
• The Black Rifle: M16 Rifle Retrospective
• The AK47 Story: Evolution of the Kalashnikov Weapons
• The Great Rifle Controversy: Search for the Ultimate Infantry Rifle from World War II to Vietnam and Beyond
• Small Arms Today
• Handguns of the World
• Reflections on the Wall: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

His bookSmall Arms of the Worldis considered a standard reference on military pistols, rifles, submachineguns, and light machineguns.

External links

• Mini-biography on Ezell at the Smithsonian
• On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet