The papers of Paul B. Ryan, an American historian and retired United States Navy Captain, consist of clippings, reports, studies, other printed matter, notes, correspondence, writings, speeches, and photographs relating to Ryan's research on the 1978 Panama Canal treaty, the development of the United States Navy since World War II, the Iran hostage crisis, and Ryan himself.

Paul B. Ryan, 1913-1987, was a captain in the United States Navy, a historian, and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. He received a BS from the US Naval Academy in 1936, a master's degree in international relations from Stanford University, and a master's degree in history from San Jose State University. His time in the Navy included combat in World War II, three commands at sea, two tours of duty at the Pentagon, and service as US Naval Attaché for the US embassies in Havana, Cuba and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He also served as Deputy Director of Naval History in the Department of the Navy from 1969-1972. As a Hoover scholar and historian he published multiple books, including The Panama Canal Controversy: U.S. Diplomacy and Defense Interests (1977), First Line of Defense: The U.S. Navy Since 1945 (1981), and The Iranian Rescue Mission: Why It Failed (1985). In 1987 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Navy League of the United States for his writings on naval history.

56 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder (22.8 Linear Feet)

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The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.