Angus Kress Gillespie, Ph.D.

Angus Kress Gillespie is a writer and a Professor of American Studies at Rutgers University. He has written a number of books, but the one that he is best known for is Twin Towers: The Life of New York City’s World Trade Center which was a New York Times bestseller. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Gillespie graduated from Yale University in 1964. He then took up teaching in secondary schools in suburban Philadelphia while doing graduate studies in the Department of American Civilization at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in 1973, he was employed as an instructor at the Department of American Studies in Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he has continued to teach for fifty years.

From 1977 to 1987, Gillespie served as a volunteer in the Millstone Valley Fire Department (MVFD) in East Millstone, New Jersey. Living in a small town, most able-bodied men served as a way to help their neighbors and because it seemed like the right thing to do. Following a basic training course dealing with topics such as ropes and knots, ladders, forcible entry, and fire suppression, Gillespie became certified. It was a good opportunity to participate not only in firefighting but in community activities such as the fund-raising pancake breakfasts in February, the firemen’s picnic in June, the Christmas bazaar in November, and the Santa Tour in December. Gillespie served as President of the MVFD in 1987.

Since 2006, Gillespie has been an active member in the Central Jersey Council (CJC) of the Navy League of the United States. The organization was founded in 1902 with the support of President Theodore Roosevelt. It is a nonprofit civilian, educational and advocacy organization that supports America’s sea services: the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine. As this mission is reflected locally, the CJC works to help with the Coast Guard at the Aids to Navigation Team at Bayonne as well the Coast Guard Station at Sandy Hook. The CJC also works to support the U.S. Naval Weapons Station at Earle, New Jersey. Gillespie served as President of the CJC in 2011, 2012, and 2013.