Kenneth J. Blume is a specialist in 19th century U.S. maritime, naval, and diplomatic history. He holds a Ph.D. from SUNY-Binghamton and is professor of history in the Department of Humanities and Communication, School of Arts and Sciences, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He is also the author of Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from the Civil War to World War I (Scarecrow, 2005) and Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Maritime Industry (Scarecrow, 2011).