From his youth in Tucson, Arizona, John Langellier, developed a passion for the history of both the Borderlands and the American West. During his more than fifty-year career in public history, Langellier has served as a founding team member for the Autry Museum of the American West (Los Angeles), director of the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne, deputy director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (Simi Valley), and executive director of the Sharlot Hall Museum (Prescott). He also has taught at various institutions of higher learning, most recently through Northwestern University for his online course: “The African American Military Experience.” A frequent public speaker, he likewise has served as a consultant to television and motion pictures beginning with his first film collaboration—Apocalypse Now.

He has written scores of articles and dozens of books, including such titles as: Custer: The Man, The Myth, The Movies;  Scouting with the Buffalo Soldiers: Lieutenant Powhatan Clarke, Frederic Remington and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry in the Southwest; More Work Than Glory: Buffalo Soldiers in the United States Army, 1866-1916; Buffalo Soldiers in Arizona, and Bastion By The Bay: The Presidio of San Francisc from Outpost of Empire to Magnificent Park.

He holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of San Diego in history and historical archaeology and earned his Ph.D. from Kansas State University with an emphasis on U.S. military history.