Howard M. Schott

Howard M. Schott
Personal details
Born	17 June 1923 New York City
Died	23 June 2005
Nativity	United States
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32809746
Rank	Private First Class
Camp Ritchie	Class 19 (16 May – 13 July 1944)
Section	7C
Enlisted	New York City, New York
Teams	IPW 406, IPW 167, MII 496-G

Teammates

Team — IPW 406

Team — IPW 167

Team — MII 496-G

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Howard M. Schott (17 June 1923 – 23 June 2005) was a New York–born Ritchie Boy (Class 19) who interrogated German prisoners and later became a leading early-music scholar and harpsichord advocate.

Biography

Howard M. Schott was born on 17 June 1923 in New York City and raised in White Plains. After high school he entered Yale, majoring in French while studying harpsichord with Ralph Kirkpatrick. Drafted during his third year, he taught literacy to draftees in Wisconsin, studied German intensively at Ann Arbor—finishing a Baudelaire thesis and graduating in 1944—then trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 19), where he worked with Henry Pleasants.

Overseas he did translation and prisoner interrogation and co-authored a glossary of German administrative and political terminology. After discharge (1943–1946 service) he earned a Yale law degree (1948), topped the New York bar exam, and worked for federal agencies and industry while remaining active in music.

His book Playing the Harpsichord (1971) led to doctoral study at Oxford; he received the D.Phil. in 1978 for a critical edition of J. J. Froberger. Based in Boston, Schott lectured widely, wrote for New Grove and Early Music, and helped shape the Boston Early Music Festival. He died on 23 June 2005 shortly after that year’s festival.

Gallery

• 
  He served on the boards of numerous organizations, including the Boston Early Music Festival, the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, the Boston Clavichord Society and the American Recorder Society

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	82
Nara ASN	32809746
Nara Name	SCHOTT HOWARD M
Nara State	23
Nara County	119
Nara POE	2364
Nara DOE	180243
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	23
Nativity.1	NEW YORK
Nara Year of Birth	23
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	6
Nara Civilian Occupation	992
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	70
Nara Weight (lbs)	168
Class_ASN	32809746
Class_Name	SCHOTT, Howard M.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 17 June 1923 — Born in New York City; raised White Plains.
• Yale — French major; harpsichord with Ralph Kirkpatrick.
• 1943–1946 — Drafted; Ann Arbor German study; Camp Ritchie Class 19; ETO interrogation / translation.
• 1948 — Yale Law School; New York bar.
• 1971 / 1978 — Playing the Harpsichord; Oxford D.Phil. (Froberger edition).
• Boston years — Musicology, Early Music Festival, New Grove contributions.
• 23 June 2005 — Died.

Sources

• Paul Cienniwa, “Howard Schott (1923–2005),” Early Music 33, no. 4 (November 2005): 739–740 (RB Archive JSTOR PDF)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-30 (1 post)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Howard M. Schott for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Schott, Howard M. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: HOWARD M. SCHOTT.docx)