Gen. William Knowlton; Led West Point

A soldier-scholar, Gen. Knowlton also taught social sciences at West Point while working on a master's degree in political science at Columbia University, which he received in 1957. He also graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the National War College.

After West Point, Gen. Knowlton became chief of staff of the European Command and for his last three years of active duty was the U.S. representative to NATO's military committee in Brussels, the highest military authority in the NATO alliance.

After his retirement, he was a senior fellow at a defense studies institute at the National Defense University at Fort McNair for 15 years. He also served as an adviser for the Defense Nuclear Agency and was a member of the Defense Intelligence Agency Science and Technology Advisory Board.

In the private sector, he became a director of the Chubb Corp. and served as a trustee for Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia. He had been a resident of Arlington County and Alexandria since 1980.

In 2004, the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy gave him its Distinguished Graduate Award, calling him "a living embodiment of the values enshrined in the Academy's motto: Duty, Honor, Country."

Gen. Knowlton's military honors also included a Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit and two awards of the Army Commendation Medal.

In addition to his daughter, of Fort Myer, survivors include his wife of 64 years, Marjorie D. "Peggy" Knowlton of Alexandria; three sons, retired Army Lt. Col. William A. Knowlton Jr. of Burke, Davis D. Knowlton of Manila and Timothy R. Knowlton of Mill Valley, Calif.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.