John Earl Haynes (1944-) is an American historian, who specializes in twentieth-century political history. Within this field, he has established himself as an expert on the Cold War and Soviet espionage. In 2009, he published Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America, which he co-authored with Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev. Spies is a book about Soviet espionage in the 1930s and 1940s, and it features several Soviet spies from the Manhattan Project era.
Haynes received his B.A. from Florida State University in 1966 and his Ph.D. from the Univesity of Minnesota in 1978. Before retiring in 2012, he held the position of Century Political Historian in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress for over twenty years. While working for the Library of Congress, he was their historical representative to the International Committee for the Computerization of the Comintern Archive (INCOMKA Project).
Haynes has written, co-authored and/or edited a total of twelve books, as well as, authored and published more than 100 articles and essays. He sits on the editorial boards of three journals: American Communist History, The International Newsletter of Communist Studies, and Jahrbuch für Historische Kommunismusforschung. Haynes also is an online editor for the historical discussion list on American communism (H-HOAC).
Besides focusing on politics historically, Haynes has taken an active interest in American politics. He has served as the Assistant Commissioner for Tax Policy in the Revenue Department of the State of Minnesota. Haynes has also worked as an aide to two Minnesota governors, a U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative.
He currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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