Hugh Winder Nibley

Hugh Winder Nibley
Personal details
Birth name	Hugh Winder Nibley
Born	27 March 1910 Portland, Oregon
Died	24 February 2005 Provo, Utah
Nativity	United States
Religion	Latter-day Saints
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	19160134
Rank	Sergeant
Rank at Ritchie	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 7 (15 April – 12 June 1943)
Section	6
Enlisted	Los Angeles, California

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Hugh Winder Nibley (27 March 1910 – 24 February 2005) was an American scholar who trained at Camp Ritchie in Class 7, served as an order-of-battle specialist with the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, and later taught at Brigham Young University for nearly fifty years as a prolific author and apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Biography

Hugh Winder Nibley was born on 27 March 1910 in Portland, Oregon, the son of Alexander Nibley and Agnes Sloan; his grandfather Charles W. Nibley was Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church. The family lived in Medford, Oregon, from 1917 to 1919 and moved to Los Angeles in 1921. At eight Nibley was baptized into the LDS Church. He graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1927, where he was a friend of John Cage, pursued astronomy, art, and literature, taught himself Old and Middle English, German, Latin, and Greek, published poems in 1926, and took part in ROTC. From 1927 to 1929 he served an LDS mission in Germany, where he learned German, followed by six weeks in Greece. He majored in history at UCLA, graduating summa cum laude in 1934, served briefly in 1933 as a mission stenographer, and earned his PhD at UC Berkeley in 1938 with a dissertation on the Roman games.

Nibley taught at the Claremont Colleges, without pay in 1939–1940 and then as an instructor in history, humanities, Greek, and German, and added Irish, Akkadian, Russian, Italian, and Spanish to his languages. He resigned in June 1942 and enlisted as a private at Los Angeles in October 1942. After basic training he completed weather-observation school and served as an observer with the 2nd Weather Detachment in March 1943, and on his commanding officer's recommendation he was sent to Camp Ritchie, graduating with Class 7 (IPW Ge) on 12 June 1943, classified as a documents typist. He then took the German order-of-battle course (Class 6 OB) and was promoted to master sergeant on 26 October 1943 with his fellow graduates. In England he helped compile information on German officers for the June 1944 Order of Battle Book and in spring 1944 briefed the pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division at the Pathfinder School at RAF North Witham, Lincolnshire. He landed at Utah Beach on D-Day and by glider near Eindhoven during Operation Market Garden, gathering intelligence from civilians, documents, and prisoners; he was the only survivor of Order of Battle Team 5, and in March 1945 he was transferred to OB Team 81 with the 101st Airborne Division. He visited Dachau a few days after its liberation and was discharged in November 1945.

In 1946 Nibley became a managing editor of the Improvement Era and wrote No, Ma'am, That's Not History, a response to Fawn M. Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith, which became a turning point in LDS apologetics. He married Phyllis Draper in September 1946, and they had eight children. That year he joined Brigham Young University as a professor of religion and history, teaching languages and early Christian history; he became a full professor in 1953, studied Egyptian and Coptic at UC Berkeley as a visiting professor in 1959–1960, and in 1973 became director of BYU's Institute for Ancient Studies. He wrote extensively on LDS scripture, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Joseph Smith Papyri, as well as social commentary critical of materialism; he was a Democrat, conservationist, and pacifist who opposed the Vietnam War. His work influenced the founding of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) in 1979, which later published his collected works with Deseret Book; his scholarship remains debated. Around the time of his death, his daughter Martha Beck published a memoir alleging abuse, claims that other family members and some reviewers considered false. He retired from his staff position in 1975 but worked as professor emeritus until 1994. Nibley died at his home in Provo, Utah, on 24 February 2005, aged 94.

Research notes

• Also PG Class 6 GerOB
• OB 5;81

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	95
Nara ASN	19160134
Nara Name	NIBLEY HUGH
Nara State	91
Nara County	37
Nara POE	9141
Nara DOE	280942
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	95
Nativity.1	OREGON
Nara Year of Birth	10
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	8
Nara Civilian Occupation	31
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	67
Nara Weight (lbs)	139
Class_ASN	19160134
Class_Name	NIBLEY, Hugh
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both
Census_HISTID	9E422AF9-5836-4237-82F1-7412712A06C8
Census_State	CALIFORNIA
Census_Relate	Other non-relatives
Census_Sex	Male
Census_Age	30
Census_BirthYear	1910
Census_Marital	Never married/single
Census_Race	White
Census_BPL	OREGON
Census_MBPL	0
Census_FBPL	0
Census_Educ	5+ years of college
Census_OCC	6

Timeline

• 27 March 1910 — Born in Portland, Oregon.
• 1927–1929 — LDS mission in Germany.
• 1934 — Graduated summa cum laude from UCLA.
• 1938 — PhD, University of California, Berkeley.
• June 1942 — Resigned from the Claremont Colleges.
• October 1942 — Enlisted in Army at Los Angeles, California, as Pvt (ASN: 19160134).
• March 1943 — Served as observer with 2nd Weather Detachment.
• 12 June 1943 — Graduated with Class 7 (IPW Ge). Classified as Documents Typist.
• 26 October 1943 — Promoted to M/Sgt.
• Spring 1944 — Provided mission briefings to Pathfinders of 101st AB Division at the Pathfinders School at RAF North Witham, Lincolnshire, England.
• 6 June 1944 — Landed at Utah Beach.
• September 1944 — Landed by glider near Eindhoven (Operation Market Garden).
• March 1945 — Transferred to OB Team 81 attached to (101st Airborne Division).
• November 1945 — Discharged from the Army.
• September 1946 — Married Phyllis Draper; joined the BYU faculty.
• 1973 — Director of BYU's Institute for Ancient Studies.
• 24 February 2005 — Died in Provo, Utah.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Hugh Nibley
• 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)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Hugh Nibley for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 4 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Nibley, Hugh for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 4 source files: HUGH C. NIBLEY (2019).doc, HUGH C. NIBLEY (2020).doc, HUGH C. NIBLEY.doc, HUGH NIBLEY.doc)