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A historian was a scholar who researched and interpreted past events in the field of study known as history. Those who passed down their history via word of mouth rather than writing it down were known as oral historians. (TNG: "Violations") John Gill noted that historians were not immune to making the same mistakes as those they studied. (TOS: "Patterns of Force")

Federation starships of the 23rd century could include historians among their officers, who were assigned to the operations division. Lieutenant Marla McGivers, for instance, served as a historian aboard the USS Enterprise in 2267. When the Enterprise encountered the 20th century sleeper ship SS Botany Bay, Captain Kirk commented that this was a chance for "that historian to do something for a change" (TOS: "Space Seed") Lieutenant Erickson later served as a historian aboard the Enterprise in 2269. (TAS: "Yesteryear")

While time travelling back to 2268, Julian Bashir expressed confusion over Miles O'Brien wearing a red uniform, prompting the engineer to ask if he knew anything about that time period. Bashir responded with, "I'm a doctor, not a historian." (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

Whalen was a 20th century historian and fiction expert who served aboard the USS Enterprise-D in 2364. (TNG: "The Big Goodbye")

The same year, a Ferengi historian collected information pertaining to the history of space travel within the Federation, with the intention of selling it as a nostalgic gift. One of the photographs from the database showed an elderly Shannon Janeway and her family. Upon being presented with the image by Neelix in 2375, Kathryn Janeway remarked that she would have been his first customer. (VOY: "11:59")

Berlinghoff Rasmussen lied in 2368, saying every historian from his "time" knew the bridge of USS Enterprise-D. Jean-Luc Picard doubted that the layout of his ready room could possibly be of interest to them. (TNG: "A Matter Of Time")

Noted historians[]

External links[]

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