William Laird Clowes Sir William Laird Clowes ( 1 February 1856 – 14 August 1905 ) was a British journalist and historian whose principal work was " The Royal Navy , A History from the Earliest Times to 1900 " , a text that is still in print . He also wrote numerous technical pieces on naval technology and strategy and was also noted for his articles concerning racial politics in the Southern United States . Despite having trained as a lawyer , Clowes had always preferred literature and writing , publishing his first work in 1876 and becoming a full - time journalist in 1879 . For the services rendered in his career , Clowes was knighted , awarded the gold medal of the United States Naval Institute and given a civil list pension . He died in Sussex in 1905 after years of ill - health . Life . Born in 1856 in Hampstead , Clowes was educated at Aldenham School and studied law at King ' s College London and Lincoln ' s Inn . In 1876 his first work , a poetic Egyptian love story named " Meroë " was published and in 1879 he left the law to become a journalist , training outside London but returning in 1882 with his new wife Ethel Mary Louise . Clowes first job was with the " Army and Navy Gazette " , at which he rapidly learned about the British military , in particular the Royal Navy . Writing under the pseudonym " Nauticus " , Clowes covered the Royal Navy ' s manouveres in home waters for several newspapers and became an established authority on naval tactics and technology , publishing articles on gunnery , torpedoes and other naval issues of the time . An article written in 1893 has been credited with affecting the naval estimates of that year , the standard by which the relative power of navies was assessed . His 1894 novel , " The Captain of the Mary Rose " described a fictional modern naval war between Britain and France . In his professional career , Clowes took a keen interest in the United States of America and travelled there many times , beginning in 1890 , when he made an extensive study of race relations in the Southern States . Clowes ' articles appeared in " The Times " entitled " Black America : a Study of the ex - Slave and his Master " , and described the segregation then in place in the region , predicting that it could one day erupt in a civil war . He also worked on the European continent , writing or translating articles in French and German . He spent much time as a contributor and editor of encyclopedias , principally on naval issues and was editor of the " Naval Pocket Book " for some years . He also promoted the publication of inexpensive paperbacks . In 1897 , Clowes gave up his journalistic career to focus on naval history , spending the next six years compiling his best known work , " The Royal Navy , A History from the Earliest Times to 1900 " . This publication was well received at the time and remains a standard reference text and in print . During the last years of his life he was also a contributor to Traill and Mann ' s six - volume series " Social England " and author of " Four Modern Naval Campaigns " ( 1902 ) . Much of his research into naval history was carried out abroad , especially in Davos , Switzerland , due to repreated bouts of ill - health . For his services to journalism and naval history , he was made a Knight Bachelor in 1902 , given a civil list pension of £150 , invited to join the Institute of Naval Architects and the Royal United Service Institution and presented with the gold medal of the United States Naval Institute . He also became a Fellow of King ' s College London . He died in August 1905 at his home in St Leonards , East Sussex , leaving his wife and their son Geoffrey . Lady Clowes was awarded a pension of £100 some months later .